Carousel
by animeMUSICaddict
Summary: All seems well when Sora and crew return to Destiny Islands, until a familiar face appears. Now Sora is battling for his life and the sake of the other worlds. The Organization is back and more ruthless than ever. Only one thing matters. Kingdom Hearts.
1. The Beach

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the idea and any new things.

AN: this is my first fanfic and it's still a work in progress! But read and enjoy!! Reviews are loved!

Chapter 1

"Haha!" Sora screamed as he triumphantly stole The Way To The Dawn, Riku's beloved keyblade, and bolted down the beach. He held the keyblade high above his spiky-haired head like he won the Olympics or something.

"Hey!" Riku bellowed. "Give that back!" and he, too, took off.

Kairi watched as the two guys started chasing each other in large deformed circles, and she muttered, "Freaks." The redhead picked up her book and started to read again _The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy._

"Sora! Stop and give me my blade or I will kill you! Emphasis on kill!" Riku yelled to the slowing brunette.

"WHAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER…THE ROAR OF…THE WAVES!!!"

"You idiot!! There aren't any waves!"

"…So! Just go with it!"

Then, combined with Riku's madness and un-patientness, he tackled Sora. They both went tumbling down into the sand like bowling pins being struck down.

Kairi looked over just as Sora went down and thought, _"Matrix?"_ She put her book down and walked over to help the two guys up.

Riku jumped to his feet, walked towards his keyblade, picked it up and brushed off the sand, and stalked off.

"He seems a little hot-headed…" Kairi muttered as she walked up to Sora. She stopped at his feet and tried not to laugh. Sora was lying there like a star, arms and legs stretched out, and his face was buried in the sand.

"Uh…Sora? You gonna get up?"

Sora slowly nodded and sat up; about a gallon of sand spilled out of his mouth and he fell back down backwards into the water.

"You know, it probably wasn't that good of an idea to get chased by Riku…"

"Ya…probably not," Kairi answered as she helped Sora up.

He shook the sand out of his hair and clothes and stood there, contemplating something.

"What?" Kairi asked. She seemed to be getting a vibe that Sora was going to say something serious.

"I was just thinking. Everything seems to be relatively quiet ever since we came back," he stated, staring towards the vast sky. The sun was setting and gave everything a forbidding yet calming look.

"Of course it has. The Organization is gone and no one is out there anymore trying to disrupt the peace," Kairi said cheerily.

"Well ya, but still," Sora argued as he walked towards and down the pier. "It would be nice to visit everyone again." He sat down on the edge of the wood and leaned back on his palms. A deep sigh escaped from his mouth as he closed his eyes, listening to the waves crash against the shore.

Kairi followed him along the pier and sat next to the boy, feet swinging back and forth above the chilled water and her hands like Sora's.

Sora sat up and rested his head in his hands, held on his arms, which were propped on his knees. "I mean, I promised everyone I would but I won't be able to. And I also don't feel right. Seriously, I went around and killed people. Everyone says they were bad and needed to be taken care of, but it didn't feel right."

Kairi closed her eyes too and tried to help Sora. "Sometimes things just happen, whether we want them to or not, and we just have to carry them out. You may not have liked it or agreed to it, but that's what the worlds needed. Someone to help them."

She turned and smiled sweetly to Sora. He looked up at her and smiled back.

"Thanks," he whispered.

Kairi leaned over and gave him a reassuring hug. "You're welcome. Just put everything you didn't care for behind you and move on. Come on, let's head back home. Riku's probably thinking we drowned or something."

"Or he's hoping we did."

Kairi laughed and they both got up and walked back towards their houses.

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Later on from that fine "trip", Riku walked around the island and found Sora sitting on a papou tree.

"Hey, Sora! What did you want?"

"Nothing. I talked to Kairi instead."

"Oh thanks!"

"It's not that she's better, you left."

"Uh-huh. I'm sure that's the reason."

"Wha-oh come on, man! Besides, she's better at talking about that kind of stuff anyway."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Problems I was thinking about." Sora thought back to last night and what Kairi said. He would just forget about everything and move on.

"Right…well what do you want to do now?"

"Fight?"

"Definitely."

So with that said, the two were at it again, sparring with each other.

Riku took out The Way To The Dawn and assumed his stance. Sora followed suit with Ultima.

"Oh come on! That's cheating! You can't use that!" Riku complained.

"What? Afraid you'll lose?"

"No." Riku leaped forward and knocked Sora's feet out from under him.

"Ok, that was a cheap shot!" Sora exclaimed as he regained his composure.

"No it wasn't. It's just that you can use magic. I can't."

"So? You're better at fighting anyway."

"True."

"Ok, let's not get too cocky-!" Sora hinted as he shoved his blade toward Riku's chest. The silver haired teen easily dodged and thumped his blade hilt to the back of Sora's head.

"Ouch! Ok I get it…you win…AGAIN."

"It's ok. I'm sure you'll win sometime soon."

Riku smirked and withdrew his blade. Sora did too.

"Well, I guess we can watch the sunset…" Riku said as he climbed onto the tree overlooking the water. Sora climbed on after.

"Ya. There's nothing else to do except-"

"Hey," Sora interrupted, "Where's Kairi?"

"Brilliant observation skills. She's been gone the whole time we've been here."

"I know, but I thought she was just late."

"No. She just said she wasn't gonna come today. Said something about hanging out with Selphie."

"Oh…"

"But I'm sure she'll love a box of chocolates and a rose on her front doorstep," Riku said in a lover's voice.

"Shut up," Sora laughed as he nudged Riku.

Riku 'nudged' Sora back and Sora returned the hit, only to have it returned back full force and he fell off the tree into the water.

As Sora stormed out of the water, he walked up to Riku and stopped directly in his face and spat out a mouthful of water.

"Ugh! Gross!" Riku yelled in disgust as he tried to clear away the nasty spit-infested seawater.

"That's what you get for knocking me off that tree!"

"Ok. Let's stop with this before someone gets hurt," Riku said, directing the _hurt_ part towards Sora.

"Ya, good idea. Wouldn't want any 'accidents'!"

"Ya…I'm sure that'll happen!"

"Ok, let's just go back home. It's already dark out."

"Sure."

So the two guys began their quest home. They crossed from the island to the mainland and parted.

"See ya tomorrow?" Riku asked.

"Sure. I'll meet you by the tree, and tell Kairi to meet us there," Sora answered.

Riku waved as a sign of understanding and walked towards his house. Sora turned his back to his friend and made his way home.

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Sora awoke in a cold sweat.

"Oh god…Kairi…"

Sora lay there, terrified to return to sleep in fear of the reoccurring nightmare, and tried not to think about it, but to no avail.

"Sora!" Kairi yelled as she reached for him

"_Kairi!" Sora threw out his hand in a last attempt to save his life-long friend, but couldn't. _

_Xemnas, the Superior of the infamous Organization XIII, plunged his swords through Kairi's torso, inflicting instant death. The lifeless form of the girl fell and Sora ran to her, catching her just as she was about to hit the ground._

"_Kairi!! No! Stay with me! You can't die, not now! KAIRI!!"_

_The blood-curdling screams of the boy ricocheted throughout the castle. _

"_NOO!!!" Tears were pouring out of Sora's eyes and he clutched the girl's body against him, soaking her bloodstained form with tears. _

_A menacing laugh silenced the grieving boy's yells. Sora looked up, cheeks drenched in tears, and thought ' _How can anyone do this and be laughing?'

"_No…no…_NOO!!" Sora screamed and jolted out of that thought. He slowly rose out of the bed and walked out of his bedroom into the bathroom. He stopped in front of the mirror and peered at himself. There were gray bags under his eyelids from lack of sleep and he had a dead look in his eyes.

Sora turned his gaze from the mirror and returned to his room. He shuffled through the mountains of clothes on his floor and chose the casual black attire, which he changed into.

Walking from his room, he stalked through the pitch-black hallways and down the stairs. He went through the main hall and out the front door, headed towards the island.

A memory flashed through Sora's mind. He and Riku were on the beach as a darkening cloud of black and blood-red smoke unfurled from the sky and became a portal. Riku was saying it was time to go to different worlds…

Sora walked across the sandy beach and stopped, looking out across the ocean, which seemed to be calling to him. The moon, which was a bright off-white color, cast on eerie glow on the sea.

Sora resumed walking, as if he were a zombie, and stopped at the end of the pier. He closed his eyes and tilted his head up towards the moon. A light sea breeze swept through his hair and he relaxed from the nightmare lurking in the back of his mind.

Then the wind stopped. Everything stopped. Sora immediately became tense. He started to back up and return home, but he bumped into something…someone.

A gloved hand came up from behind the boy and clasped itself around Sora's mouth. Sora defensively shot his hands up to try and pry the hand off, but another came up and took both of his arms into a tight bind behind his back.

"Now, do you think that's polite?"

"_Oh god…not _him _again."_


	2. AWOL

"Now, do you think that's polite?"

"_Oh god, not _him_ again."_

Sora tried to pry his hands free but the man took an even tighter grip on them.

"_Alright, no hands," _Sora thought and he did the next best thing. Trying to be casual, the brunette raised his right foot, brought it back, and slammed it into the man's knee.

"Oh god! You rat!" the man seethed as he let Sora's arms slip through his grasp.

Taking no time for the man to recover, Sora split for home.

"Hey!"

"_My god, this guy is pathetic."_

Sora kept running and running and it seemed that there was no end to the sandy island, but finally the view of houses came up, along with a shadowy figure some distance away.

"_Seriously, if more of these guys show up things aren't gonna look so good."_

Hoping that the man would leave, Sora pressed on harder. But the man didn't leave; he started to run towards Sora.

Sora stopped running immediately and, on instinct, turned around and ran. Just as he turned, Sora sped up, but the first man was right there. He grabbed Sora's arms, twisted them around so that Sora himself was turned around, and the man forced Sora to his knees.

The man had one hand pressing Sora's head face-down, the other hand kept Sora's arms twisted behind his back, and his foot was standing on the back of Sora's right leg.

"Rrgghhh…get off me!!" Sora commanded.

The man ignored the boy and turned to face the other guy who had arrived. "Come on. We're leaving."

"What?" Panic shot through Sora as he fully realized the seriousness of the situation. "No!" Sora began to try and fight off the man, but in response, the man pushed Sora flat onto his stomach.

"Get movin'!"

Sora risked a glance at the man holding him down and suddenly felt hollow.

That's impossible! There's no way he could be alive! I freakin' killed him!

"Xigbar!" Sora yelled.

Xigbar faced Sora and smirked. "The one and only."

"I killed you!" Sora spat out.

"Well, by the looks of it, I guess not. I'm still here!"

Xigbar looked back up and saw the portal; Sora followed the Freeshooter's line of sight and then felt himself being picked up.

"Hey!"

"Shut up!" a different man yelled. Sora swung his head around to the guy's voice and saw he was the one who picked him up.

"Xaldin? What's going on here!"

Xaldin remained silent and hoisted Sora up onto his shoulder. Sora tried to break free, but Xigbar came back to face him and delivered a swift blow to the boy's head, and Sora was immediately out cold.

"Alright, let's go."

The three soon disappeared via portal.

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The next morning, Riku was out by the tree waiting for Sora. A red colored shape appeared in the corner of Riku's vision and he noticed it as Kairi, but she was running.

As soon as she caught with Riku, he said, "Ya know, you didn't have to rush."

"That's not it; Sora's gone."

"What?"

"I was coming here to meet you two but then I thought I would stop by Sora's house and walk with him, but he wasn't there."

"Well, he said he was going to meet us here today. He wouldn't bail out on us. I'm sure he's here somewhere. Let's just check around the island."

Kairi nodded but knew they weren't going to find anything. Last time Sora left, he didn't come back for nearly two years.

Quietly, Kairi walked around the sandy shore, looking for the slightest detail or hint, but found none. She was just about to give up when she walked down the pier and saw something. She ran over to it and noticed it immediately. It was her lucky charm.

"Riku!" she yelled and waved him over.

"What?"

"Look. I gave this to Sora about two weeks ago because he kept worrying something was going to happen and he wouldn't talk to me so I gave him this to keep him safe. I told him not to lose it but…"

"Look, I'm sure he just accidentally dropped it."

"No, he wouldn't. You of all people know he wouldn't forget something like this. Besides, look at those marks."

Kairi pointed to the pier. "See. There are scratch marks everywhere. I don't think he left willingly."

"What, are you saying he was kidnapped or something?"

"Not 'something', I think he _was_ kidnapped."

"Ok, if you're right, then we need to find him fast because whoever did this probably didn't want to just ask him something."

"Ya, but who would want him and why?"

"I don't know. I could only guess the Organization, but they're all dead. Think we should inform King Mickey?"

"Definitely. He'll probably know something or give us a lead," Kairi answered and they both headed off towards Sora's house.

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Rain was pouring from the night sky, illuminating Castle Infinity with an eerie shine. A black portal suddenly erupted from the ground and out of it came two men and an unconscious boy.

The first man, Xigbar, stepped out of the shadow along with Xaldin, then the black vanished. The two men resumed their walking and headed towards the bleak castle.

Walking through the Byzantine style door, the men made a right and walked for about one hundred feet, then took an immediate left and down a long flight of stairs.

Once at the bottom, they went left into the heart of the castle and were in a corridor of cells; more accurately, empty rooms.

Opening the first door he came to, Xaldin walked in, while Xigbar stood outside. The Lancer walked to the back wall and removed Sora from his shoulder and put him down, his back against the brick wall.

Picking up the boy's right arm, Xaldin locked it into a shackle chained to a wall; the same was done to the left arm.

Turning his back to the boy, Number III walked back out and locked the door. He and Xigbar left through a portal and ended up on the top floor, floor 50. Fearing using the doors, Xaldin parted and left Xigbar to explain things.

Cautiously, the Freeshooter opened the towering door and entered a portal to his appropriate seat. The whole room was bathed in white and there were thirteen chairs, all of unequal height, but only two were occupied. The highest chair had a cloaked figure, seemingly in-charge, and the other had Xigbar as its occupant.

"Well?" the cloaked man inquired.

"Got him," Xigbar answered.

"Well where is he?"

"In the cell."

"Why? I wanted to speak to him."

"He's kinda out cold."

"…" The man sighed.

"Seriously Xemnas, everything's under control."

"Just don't screw up. Otherwise you'll find yourself in a worse situation compared to the boy."

AN: This may be a little confusing but I promise it'll all be answered/explained in later chapters! BTW, Castle Infinity is a new castle that I made up. I didn't feel like using Oblivion or the Castle That Never Was. Basically, it was built on the ruins of TWTNW. The castle is called Infinity because…I'll tell you later! Thanks DeimosPhobos for the castle name! I'll upload the next chapter a little faster hopefully!! Bye!!


	3. Rat

"_No one lives in utter happiness but to lose something dear."_

"Ugh…my head…" Sora complained as he slowly raised his head. "Man, what a night." Then Sora looked around a bit closer.

"Whoa…where am I?"

The musty air and moldy walls didn't look anything like home.

"Ok, last night I was in my room, then I went out to the beach and…wait…XIGBAR!"

_**On the forty-eighth floor…**_

Xigbar was busy at work, popping some special Nobody-custom-made popcorn in his microwave, when he heard a faint scream.

"Dear god, what in the world screams _that_ loud?"

_**Back in the basement…**_

Sora was seething. "I swear, when he comes in here, I'm gonna kill him!"

Then there was an awkward silence. Sora pulled on his arms, but they wouldn't budge. Slowly looking up, he saw them chained to the wall.

"GOD $%&*#! THAT %*$^& *$^&!! I'M GONNA MURDER HIM!!"

_**Back on the forty-eighth floor…**_

"Seriously, who is that screaming!?"

_**In the basement…**_

Sora was pulling on his hands as hard as he could to try and slip them out of the steel shackles, but miserably failed. Then he leaned forward as far as he could and tried to pull his hands out that way; failed there too.

Giving it a rest, he stopped and leaned back against the wall. Sora closed his eyes and tried to gather his thoughts. Xigbar and Xaldin were back, but how? He had no clue where he was. And why was he chained up?

Then there was a noise; it sounded like…

"RAT!!" Sora screamed at the top of his lungs, louder than the previous screams, and he cowered even closer to the wall (if that was even possible).

A huge lump of fat and fur waddled over to the center of the room and sat down, ten feet from Sora.

"Dear god, get away from me!"

Like it could understand what the boy was saying, the rat ventured even closer to Sora and sat five feet from him.

"No! Get away! Get AWAY!!"

Sora kicked out his foot to try and ward off the rat, but it didn't move; it just stood there, taunting the boy.

_**On the forty-eighth floor…**_

Xigbar was laughing manically and had to lean on the counter for support. Rubbing a tear from his eyes, from laughing so much, he cackled, "Hahaha…looks like he found Aeron."

_In the basement…_

The rat was staring at Sora. Sora was staring at the rat.

"Alright, you know what buddy? You leave or things get ugly."

The rat continued staring.

"Seriously, I'm not playing."

Stare. Then the rat, seemingly bored with his staring contest, stood up and walked away.

"…Ya, you run away. Freakin rats."

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On the second day of his confinement, Sora was trying to fall asleep. With his arms chained above his head, he rested his head against his raised arm, but gave up on that idea and decided to put it to a rest.

_Why kidnap me and then just leave me here?_ he thought.

Then an idea sparked in his head.

_Well, I'm not staying here forever. _

Carefully, Sora stood up, but was hunched over from the chains pulling down on his arms, and he lifted his right foot up. With his foot on the end of the chain, Sora started to pull his right hand through the shackle.

He had to squish his fingers together in a very uncomfortable way, but his hand was finally free!

"YE-" he started to scream, but then remembered where he was and immediately shut up. Now the other hand.

With his left foot, Sora repeated the same steps with his left hand and soon it too was free!

"Alright, now for the door."

Sora walked over to the door and tried to open it, but it was locked; duh.

He scanned the door for a lock or something, but none were visible; they were all on the other side.

He went back to the chains and looked for something to pry open the door, but nothing was available; only dead chains. Then the light bulb went off in Sora's head.

"Duh." Feeling completely dumb, Sora took out Ultima.

He walked back over to the door and stuck the tip of the blade under the door and pushed down on the handle. The keyblade was acting as a pry bar. It was the oldest trick in the book. Slowly and cautiously, Sora watched as the door was raised from the hinges.

When the blade was pushed down to waist level, Sora changed from pushing with his hands to using his feet.

Using his hands, Sora guided the door down to the ground as it was removed from the hinges, then he snatched his keyblade out from under the falling door.

Sora peered out into the hallway, but to his surprise, no one was standing there.

"Tight security," Sora mumbled, putting away Ultima, and took a right down the hallway.

This castle was almost identical to the other castles, except for the fact that there were a bazillion doors everywhere.

Sora stopped in front of a random door and opened it. To his amazement, nothing was there; just a vast empty space.

"Whoa…" Sora spoke, and it echoed throughout the new room. He was starting to realize how big the room was, but didn't want to go in.

Sora walked for a couple of feet down the hall and picked up a pebble, then walked back to the door and dropped the stone in.

There was no sound; the rock hadn't hit the bottom yet. Two minutes passed and still no sound.

"Right…next door," Sora whispered as he closed the door.

Sora walked on for what seemed like an eternity then came upon an odd looking door. On the middle of it, there was a crest of some sort.

It was a clock tower that had two arches sprouting from the sides at the top and each arch had a bell on the end of it. Near the base of the tower, a sign read "STATION".

"That looks like…hey!" Sora threw open the door and charged through, not even caring if this one led somewhere.

Everything went black for a second, then his sight returned and Sora looked around. He was in front of the station, in Twilight Town.

"Oh my god…" Sora exhaled and he took off for the one place he thought they would be.

Running into the Usual Place, Sora shouted, "Hayner, Pence, Olette! Guys!" Sora looked around, but no one was there.

He ran back out and towards the sandlot, but it was empty too.

"Where is everyone?" he wondered.

Determined to see his friends, Sora ran back up to the station. Once at the top of the hill, he ran towards the door, but just as he went through, everything went black again, and then color returned; along with Castle Infinity.

_What?_ Confused, Sora stood there, trying to figure out what just happened.

"First the room leading to nowhere then this."

"Hey!"

Sora swung his head around to look at the voice's owner, and felt a rock drop into his stomach. It was Axel.

"Axel?"

"We don't need introductions. Aren't you supposed to be locked up?"

Sora was silent; fear glued his feet to the floor.

"I'll answer for you. Yes." Axel ran forward and brought out his chackrams. Sora was still paralyzed with terror.

"Your choice," Axel mumbled as he threw one of the weapons at the boy. Sora ducked and ran for it. He stopped in front of a door and opened it when Axel said, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Sora looked through the door. It was another one that led to oblivion.

_What is with this castle?_

He slowly stepped back and closed the door.

"How about you turn around and go back to your room?" Axel stated.

"I'd rather not."

"Hmph." Axel disappeared and reappeared behind Sora and slammed his hand onto the back of the boy's head.

The unconscious body fell forward and collapsed on the ground.

"Poor kid," Axel murmured as he lifted Sora up into his arms and walked back to the boy's cell.

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Axel came upon the dead door; it was just laying there from Sora taking it off its hinges. "Smart kid," the red-head chuckled.

Axel was just about to go in when a voice called, "Axel. Not in there; we're moving him."

"Hey Saix!"

The Berserker was silent.

*cough* "Where to?" Axel asked.

"Upstairs."

"Dude, there's 50 floors up there."

Saix didn't answer but turned around and walked toward the staircase. Axel turned away from the cell room and followed the man.

They ended up on the 5th floor, and walked down the bare corridor. Saix turned right into a room and Axel followed suit.

"Vexen." Saix spoke the one word.

The Academic turned from his work and saw the three men.

"Put him over there." Vexen gestured over to the opposite wall and Axel walked over to it. There were several machines standing up that looked like elongated eggs.

"Uhhh…" Axel said confused.

"Open it up and put the boy in."

Axel nodded and put Sora down on the ground. He reached up and opened the "egg", then picked the boy back up and put him in it. Axel closed the door and stepped back, looking away.

Vexen turned back to his work and Saix left. Axel called up a portal and walked through, back to his floor, floor 42.

"_This isn't right,"_ he thought.

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AN: Sora can't curse so I had to fuzz out the words. XD Hope you liked this chapter; this was kind of a crack chapter in the beginning, but later turned serious. I'm really sorry about the late update!! School is keeping me very busy (finals next week EEEK!!) but there is only 5 days left!! Yay!


	4. To The Rescue

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy.

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Kairi and Riku bolted for Sora's house hoping to find some type of communication device to reach King Mickey.

Riku threw open the door and the two ran into Sora's room. They took in the site of the war zone of a room

"Wow, nice room," Riku mumbled. Kairi slapped him across his shoulder.

"Come on," she instructed, "let's try to find a communicator."

"Supposing he has one…" Riku muttered under his breath, but he joined Kairi in the quest for ye olde communicator.

They spent half an hour shoveling through the cluttered floor and crammed drawers when a high pitched, squealing/buzzing noise rang throughout the room, sort of like a bomb.

"Oh Jesus!" Riku yelled and toppled over.

"Calm down cowboy," Kairi laughed and walked towards the noise.

It led her to the nightstand beside the bed, where she opened the bottom drawer to a vibrating object. It resembled a walkie-talkie, but with added features.

Kairi picked up the communicator and pressed a flashing button.

"Sora!" A familiar voice boomed from the receiving end.

Kairi pressed the _talk_ button on the center arrangement of buttons and answered, "Who is this?"

"Kairi! It's Mickey."

"Oh! What did you need Sora for?"

"I need to pass on a message for him."

"Well, he's not here."

"Where is he?"

"He was kind of kidnapped a couple of days ago; down by the beach."

"Why didn't you tell me about this?" There was a hint of anger in the king's voice.

"We didn't know we could!" Riku answered as he took the device from Kairi.

"This isn't good."

_Duh_ Riku thought.

"We need to get him back."

_Obviously. _ The white haired teen rolled his eyes.

Kairi took back the device.

"But how? We aren't really sure who took Sora, or where."

"You guys don't have to go. I can contact some of Sora's friends and they can rescue him."

"And who is that exactly?" Riku inclined as Kairi was about to speak.

"I think their names were Cloud and Vincent, but they're in a different world.

"Ok. I guess we'll just stay here then?" Kairi huffed.

"Exactly."

She slapped her hand to her forehead.

"Listen, not to be mean, but I don't want to wait for Sora to come back. I want to go find him _now_."

"Listen, I know you're angry but we can't risk you being captured too."

"Why would I-" Kairi started to rant but Riku interrupted.

"So when are Sora's friends going to rescue him exactly?"

"Three days."

"Three days?!" Riku and Kairi yelled in unison.

"Yes. It'll give them time to prepare and-"

"Sora could be _dead_ by then!" Riku bellowed.

"No he won't. Think about it. Why would he be captured and then killed? If they wanted him dead, they would've killed him on the beach."

Riku and Kairi were silent. The king _did_ have a point.

"Maybe they didn't want to leave evidence…" Riku mumbled lamely.

"Or maybe they'll use Sora for whatever they need and then they'll kill him. What if that happens?" Kairi asked hot-headedly.

"I don't know if either way will work, but I'll go contact Cloud and Vincent." Mickey hung up.

"Well that's just great. Why do we always get left out of things?" Kairi asked madly, her arms flailing.

"We're not going to be this time," Riku answered as he took the communicator from Kairi's hand.

"What are you-"

"Calling Leon."

"Do you even know him?"

Riku glared at her. "Just because I haven't actually met him doesn't mean anything."

Kairi rolled her eyes but let Riku go on with his plan. A few minutes passed and he was just standing there.

"So how's that going for you?" Kairi asked with a laugh.

"Ok, I don't actually know _how_ to call him, but I'm sure we can."

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In Midgar, Cloud, Tifa, Yuffie, Vincent, and Barret were talking in Seventh Heaven bar. Cloud was drinking and looking out of the window when a ringing noise went off. He reached for his phone but it was silent. He kept digging around in his pant pocket for the noise when Yuffie called, "What are you doing?"

Cloud looked up and noticed everyone was looking at him strangely.

"Just looking for something."

"Uhhh…"

"Someone called me…"

"Ok, then you answer your phone," Tifa said.

"Never mind." Then Cloud found the little device and pulled it out, waving it to his friends to see. Yuffie gave him an OK thumbs up and he proceeded to answer the object.

"Hello."

"Hey! It worked!"

"Excuse me? Who is this?"

"Riku, give me that thing!"

"Who is this?" Cloud repeated with a more stern voice.

"Oh, Kairi. Who's this?"

"You're that girl…"

"Excuse me?"

"No, you're the girl that Sora mentioned."

"Ok, thanks, but who are you?"

"Cloud."

"What cloud?" Kairi murmured, looking out at the sky.

"No! My name _is_ Cloud." Cloud got up from the booth and walked outside. He stood leaning his back against the wall and continued talking.

"So, what were you saying about Sora?" Kairi recalled.

"Nothing, he just mentioned you."

"Oh…"

"Why, what's wrong?"

"Well, he was kind of kidnapped."

"Then go rescue him."

"We can't, Mickey said he would call you and some guy Vincent-"

"Does he want _us_ to rescue Sora?"

"Apparently-hey RIKU!"

"Ok, listen. We can't save Sora because we don't have a way off this world, but you do, right?"

"Now who's talking?"

"Riku."

"Right. Well, I'll have to look for some kind of portal or something but-"

"Great, because the king was going to call you and wait three days, but Sora probably doesn't have that kind of time."

"Hey, kid, I don't know if we have a portal either."

Riku glared at the communicator. "Well get busy and find one." Then he hung up.

"Little twit…" Cloud muttered, but he opened the bar door and called, "Vincent."

Vincent looked up from looking down and walked over to Cloud.

"What?"

"Sora's friends called and they said we're supposed to go rescue Sora."

"Vincent looked at him strangely. "I'm not sure if it's a great idea to rescue people I don't know."

"I know him."

"Sure, fine, but how do we get there? I don't think he's _here_."

"We have to find a portal or something."

"And go where?"

Cloud mentally slapped himself and muttered, "I don't know. He didn't say-"

The ringing noise went off again and Cloud answered, "What?"

"Cloud?"

"Mickey?"

"Yes, I need you to do something for me-"

"Rescue Sora?"

"Yes. How did you know?"

"Someone called."

"Riku…"

"Someone like that."

"Well, you have three days-"

"I can be ready now."

"Fine. I'll send Leon to meet you."

"Leon?"

The line went dead.

"And _how_ is Leon going to get here?" Cloud yelled.

"What?" Vincent said, very confused.

Cloud returned the device to his pocket and answered, "Mickey, the king, said Leon was going to pick us up. I have no idea how that's going to happen, though. He's in Hollow Bastion still."

"Well, maybe he will fly."

Cloud looked at Vincent with a surprised look. _He's not normally sarcastic._

"What?" the black haired man muttered.

"N-nothing. Come on, we need to get a few things."

"Like what? We won't have time for a tea party."

"Haha, very funny, but let's just be sure we have enough stuff."

Vincent pulled out Cerberus and sighed. "I need more bullets."

"Where are you going to put them? In your purse?"

Vincent glared at Cloud and he immediately shut up.

"Let's go buy them and when this Leon guy comes, we'll store the bullets on whatever he drove here," Vincent said, already walking towards the store. Cloud quietly followed.

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After buying the bullets, the two guys walked back to the bar. Cloud, being his normal emo self, walked in and muttered to Tifa, "Night."

He stumbled up the stairs and plopped onto the bed, completely "sleep" ridden.

Tifa turned to Vincent, who followed Cloud in but sat in the booth by the window, and asked, "Why is he so tired?"

Vincent didn't look up but answered, "He's not; it's an act. We have to leave tomorrow for a trip."

Tifa gave him a questioning look. "What kind of trip?"

"Some friend of his needs to be rescued."

_He said that with no emotion what-so-ever._ Tifa cleared her throat and spoke up, "Well, don't take too long." She returned back to washing dishes and talking to Yuffie.

Vincent looked up at the moonless sky and squinted his eyes. Something was coming…no…_flying_ towards them.

"Cloud!" he said loudly and the blonde came crashing down the stairs.

"What? Is he here?"

Vincent responded by pointing towards the sky. Cloud walked over and his eyes widened.

"Well, it looks like you were right, he did fly," Cloud said approvingly and patted the ex-Turk on the back.

The two walked over to the door and headed out. The ship was landing and Cloud and Vincent ran for the center of town.

When they got there, Cloud muttered, "No way."

It was a Gummi ship, and Leon was the driver. He opened the door and walked out.

"Hey Cloud," he waved. "Long time no see." Then he turned to the other guy.

"Vincent Valentine," he introduced himself.

Leon nodded and then said, "We should probably get going now," and the three climbed aboard the ship.

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AN: I hope this chapter made sense! Sorry for the late update! I was sick and then it was Christmas! Woo! More interesting chapters to come!


	5. Interferences

Cloud, Vincent, and Leon were aboard the ship, finishing preparations, when Cloud muttered, "Hang on, I need my bike." He left without another word.

"What will he need that for?" Leon mused, and he sat in the driver's seat.

"No idea," Vincent replied and he took the next seat, behind and to the left of Leon.

The sound of the engine was rumbling towards them and Leon jumped up and opened the back hatch. The motorcycle drove in and Cloud jumped off.

"Let's go," he said and took the seat on Vincent's right. Leon took the front again and started the engines.

The colossal chunk of metal started to lift itself from the ground and it lurched forward, gaining speed and flying higher. Soon the ship broke free of Midgar's reaches and it went into a space like void.

"Alright," Leon said, "Where to?"

Cloud spoke up and answered, "The World That Never Was."

Leon nodded and veered the ship in a direction to the right.

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The castle seemed more eerie since Sora was caught roaming around; people were more reclusive, or so to speak.

Zexion was striding down the hall when he bumped into Lexaeus.

The two stopped and the taller man muttered, "Ready?"

The schemer responded with a nod and the two walked on in the same direction, towards Vexen's lab.

When they got there, Vexen looked up from the paperwork he was working on and stood up. He walked over to cloaked device and withdrew the cloak. A machine with an attachment that resembled a laser pointer was uncovered and Vexen rolled it out. He stopped it in front of the chamber holding Sora.

Vexen went to the back of the mechanism and flipped the switch to the 'on' position. Immediately, a hum escaped from the engine and a bright light was glowing in front of the laser pointer. The light grew in size to match the size of a ping pong ball when it was fired off.

The pure light beam shot right into Sora's heart, and the boy's face convulsed in agony. "Open the door," Vexen commanded and Zexion opened the glass barrier.

Sora was screaming from the shock, and then another voice joined in the screaming. An outline of another boy formed in front of Sora. A couple of moments passed, and the blonde fell forward and out of the container.

Lexaeus walked forward and grabbed the boy in an arm lock.

"What do you think you're doing?" he yelled madly, struggling against the older man's tight grasp.

Vexen ignored the boy and waved Lexaeus off and the buff brunette started walking towards the door.

"Hey! VEXEN!" the boy screamed as he left the room.

Zexion closed the glass door and followed Lexaeus out. Vexen turned off the machine and returned it to where it had come from, and then faced Sora. The boy had a shocked look on his face, as if he was about to cuss the older man out, but the chamber's sleep toxicities quickly returned the boy to unwanted slumber.

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Leon looked up from the electronic map on the ship's control panel to face The World That Never Was. "That's it, right?" He confirmed.

Cloud nodded and Leon prepared the ship for landing. The blonde got up from his seat and made his way to the back, to check on his bike.

"We're landing," Leon called as the ship started to descend on the outskirts of the world.

Cloud boarded his bike and opened up the side panels to reveal the different swords. He took the main one and two smaller ones for combat, then started the engines and reversed it out of the ship and onto the ground.

"Geez, don't even wait for a complete stop…" Leon muttered as he turned off the engines and he and Vincent walked out of the ship.

"Ok, so when we get there, you-," Leon pointed to Vincent, "will go in from the top of the place, and we'll go in from the front, then split up inside." Leon pointed to himself and Cloud.

"Why the front? That's pretty obvious," Cloud argued.

"I don't think they're looking for a whole entourage to come anytime soon, so it won't matter. Let's go."

Leon and Vincent boarded Cloud's bike and raced off towards the castle.

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Roxas was struggling against Lexaeus's hold and was trying to get away, but to no avail.

"What are you doing?" he yelled again, trying to break away.

The man was silent, as was Zexion, and they continued down the hall. At the end of it, Lexaeus called a portal and the three disappeared into, coming out of it on the first floor.

Roxas was desperately trying to get away, not wanting to end up like Sora, when they turned the corner and ran into someone.

Roxas looked up and gasped. "Axel?" Then it dawned on him. "Axel! Help! Please! They're going insane! Axel! AXEL!"

They turned another corner and the red head was out of sight. He didn't even help his friend, if he could be called that.

Roxas lost the courage to fight, not really expecting a way out of it if his friend wasn't going to help. He stopped fighting and let Lexaeus lead him down the hall and down a set of stairs.

The kid was led along a hall, where several doors were located, and was stopped in front of one. Zexion opened the door and Lexaeus walked in. He literally dropped Roxas in the middle of the room and walked back out. He barred the door shut from the outside and the two men teleported away.

Roxas got up and walked over to a wall and slumped down against it. "Seems familiar," he whispered to himself.

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Cloud veered Fenrir towards Memory's Skyscraper and parked it flush against the building, so as to hide it from enemy eyes. Vincent took to the sky and bounded over the roofs of buildings while Cloud and Leon raced towards the front for a head-on assault.

Cloud withdrew his buster sword and charged the door, smashing it in. The two jumped over the fallen barrier and parted in the main hall. Leon went straight down the main hall and Cloud took to the right.

Vincent jumped the last roof into the air and landed/rolled onto his feet on the ledge of the castle. He casually got up and withdrew Cerberus, then proceeded towards the entrance.

He kicked the door open and walked in. No one was around and he went left and then right, down a hallway.

Leon cautiously stalked down the hall, double-taking every now and then and slowly but surely made it to the end of the hall, only to find it leading off to another to the left. He took two steps around the corner when someone called, "Hey? What are you doing in _our_ castle?"

Leon turned and faced a younger looking guy with a mullet. He had a puzzled look on his face and Leon answered, "Looking for someone."

"Who?"

Squall paused for a minute, deciding whether this guy was an ally, or a random guy thinking he was part of the Organization. He sighed and answered, "Brunette, spiky. 'bout this height." Leon hand waved at shoulder height.

"Oh! That guy. Well, I don't think you're supposed to see him, and I've never seen you so…"

Leon quickly took his fighting stance with his sword and the mullet-man with his sitar.

"Bon voyage!" mullet mumbled and strummed a note, bringing out 20 water copies, and Leon charged the man.

Cloud met the end of the hall and turned left, and down a flight of stairs. He faced a long hall with doors covering both sides and several at random places.

Walking forward, he passed 12 doors before abruptly stopping at one. On the front of it was a design; it resembled a wolf biting on a ring.

Cloud glanced down at the wolf on the corner of his shirt, and back up at the door, opening it. He was just about to run through when he realized there was an immediate drop off. Quickly, Cloud grabbed the door frame and pulled himself out.

"Never mind…" he muttered, closing the door and walking on. The blonde crept down the hall, peering through each door, and stopped at one. He gasped and ran in. "Sora!"

The boy looked up and Cloud stopped. "Who are you?"

"Roxas…why?"

"Where's Sora?"

Roxas shrugged and slumped back against the wall, dragging his knees up and hugging them against his chest.

"Uhhh…" Cloud muttered.

"If you want to save Sora, go. He's on the 46th floor."

"Well, ok, but what about you?"

He shrugged again.

"Do you want to come? Ya know, get out of here?"

Roxas looked up and instantly rose to his feet. "Heck ya!"

_Weird…_ Cloud thought, and the two walked out, Roxas leading the way.

Vincent was walking down a hall lined with doors when he saw one open and a man came out. He had his face buried in papers and turned the opposite way of Vincent, walking away. Cautiously, Vincent stalked towards the door and carefully opened it.

He peered around the room for clearance and proceeded to enter. Looking around, there were several pod-like devices lined up against the wall, empty. There were rows and rows of them, very suspicious looking, and Vincent walked through those rows.

When he reached the end of a row, he turned to face a boy. Vincent studied him and remembered Cloud explaining something. _"Sora is the guy we're looking for. He's about this high-" he stopped to indicate Sora's height, "and has spiky, brown hair. Kind of annoying at first, but you'll notice him when you see him; he wears a black outfit."_

"This must be him," Vincent mumbled, and raised Cerberus towards the lock. It shattered at the touch of the bullet and the glass frame fell forward. Sora fell forward along with it, and Vincent caught him, lowering him to the floor. He holstered his gun and picked the boy back up.

Vincent returned to the door, and made his way back to the door where he had come in, when a shout made him stop.

"Who are you? What are you doing?"

Vincent turned to face the man he had earlier seen leaving the office. He had long, blonde hair and a peculiar look on his face.

"Vincent Valentine." He answered with the single word and in an instant, drew Cerberus and shot the man 3 times; twice in the chest and once in the stomach. Vexen collapsed instantly and Vincent holstered his gun while walking to the door, opening it, and walking out.

On the ledge, Vincent set Sora down and stepped back. He closed his eyes and slowly released his Chaos form. A few moments later, Chaos walked back to Sora and picked him up, then unfurled his monstrous wings and took off, heading back for the Gummi Ship.

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AN: ok, I said I was going to explain the castle, so here it is…basically there are groups of doors here and there, like in the basement, that either take you to a different world(which is an illusion) or they drop off into an empty void. (I got the idea from star wars and my imagination…XD) and im really sorry for the late update!! I don't want to use the excuse of "school kept me busy" but it actually did!! Ill try not to do this again! Enjoy the chapter and feel free to write any comments!!!


	6. Boy Meet Ship

As Vincent approached the ship, Sora in his arms, a black portal rushed up from the ground, blocking the path.

A feminine figure stepped out and called off the portal. Vincent glared at her; her whole aura reeked of sadistic nature.

The woman smirked at him, and with a flick of her wrist, produced three knives between her fingers.

Vincent, being his wise self, walked off to the side of the forth coming battle area and placed Sora on the ground. He walked back and stopped where he originally was, then pulled Cerberus out and stood there, waiting for the opponent to make the move.

She did so, charging Vincent at a fantastic speed, and threw two of the knives towards his head. He stepped to the side to evade them, then brought his gun up and fired off three shots. Nine bullets sprang from the gun, as if they had been waiting for it, and shot across the field.

The woman, with her blonde hair "antennas" flying, swiftly turned and slashed Vincent across the back with the remaining knife. He grunted and stumbled forward a few steps, then turned around and fired off another round, then did three melee kicks, landing all three, and the woman went flying.

She landed expertly twenty feet out and stood. With a smirk, Larxene waved her hands up and conducted a wall two stories high of pure electricity. She aimed it at Vincent and stood back to watch her spectacular show unfold.

Vincent, turning to realize the danger towering above him and nearing, holstered his gun and quickly centered his attention to one thing; _Chaos._ With a jolt, he opened his eyes and took to the sky, not a moment too soon. The wall of electricity shot past, but then Vincent groaned. Sora was in danger now.

Chaos shot towards the boy and landed in front of him, then brought his hands up to cross his chest and let out a roar of energy. It instantly shattered the electric threat and Larxene growled in frustration.

Chaos charged forward again and grabbed Death Penalty, aiming to finish the fight before Sora could get hurt, and shot two rounds, thirty-six bullets, at Larxene. Some were directly at her and others were fired around her. When she went to dodge, she hit those stray bullets and dropped back to the ground, clutching her shoulder.

Blood was seeping through her fingers and she threw three knives from her left hand to Vincent. He deflected them with Death Penalty and caught up to Larxene. They stood three feet apart when she gained three more knives and shot them into Vincent's abdomen. Two actually struck; one penetrating his side and passing through and the other graced his stomach. Vincent, not expecting that, stumbled back, clutching his stomach, and glared his worst at the woman.

She smirked and threw both arms down, ignoring the destroyed shoulder, and had six knives, three per hand. She threw them simultaneously and delivered a sharp kick to Vincent's side. He ungracefully dodged the knives, thankfully, but didn't have the time to dodge the kick.

He braced himself and took the blow. After that, Larxene backed down, expecting Vincent to be on the floor, but instead he looked up with a hint of vengeance in his eyes.

Larxene hesitated, and that was her mistake. Chaos stood tall and delivered five full-force melee kicks to her front side and shot her in the abdomen, just to even things out.

She, too, stumbled back and clutched her stomach. She growled in frustration and with her right arm, produced a ball of electric energy and shot it at Vincent, point blank.

On instinct, he twisted around and flew into the air, landing behind Larxene. He grabbed her arms into an arm lock and forced to the ground. He stuck his gun to her back and pulled the trigger.

Larxene shrieked from the shot and instantly silenced. The bullets penetrated her back right into the spine, shattering it there. Slowly, Vincent stood and returned to his original nature.

He left Larxene's body and walked back over to Sora and picked him up, bridal style. Vincent walked over to the ship and boarded it, after opening the hatch, and walked in to the back room. It was lined with beds, five on each side. He placed Sora on the nearest one to the right and walked back out, locking the hatch, and heading back to the castle.

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Leon drove his blade towards Demyx's heart, but the guy deflected it and parried with 3 copies flying towards Leon. Squall quickly parried and went to slice Demyx in half across the stomach, but mullet man jumped into the air, evading the attack, and landed a hard kick to Leon's side.

Squall smashed into the wall and stood there for a moment, catching his breath, and he charged at his opponent, putting all of his energy into the attack. Demyx went to block it with the copies, but they disintegrated on contact with the blade and Demyx got the brunt of the attack.

He collapsed to the floor and immediately jumped back to his feet. Both men stood gasping for air. Then they went for the next, and final, attack. Leon put every bit of his energy and speed into the blade, elongating it. Demyx summoned ten copies, along with a collection of water as big as a nightstand; it held the most amount of force he could muster; enough to blast off the wall. As one, the two shot off their attacks, blinding them and everything in the hall…

…and as the smoke cleared, Leon stumbled back and fell against the wall. Demyx stepped out of the smoke and called away the water he summoned up as a shield at the last minute.

Leon seethed as he tried to gain enough strength to stand again, but he just fell again. Demyx smirked and walked towards Leon. He stopped two feet short, picked up Leon's blade, and laughed, "Didn't I tell you 'bon voyage'?"

Demyx was about to deliver the finishing blow, but a crash stopped him. Both Leon and Demyx looked to the left and someone appeared in their view.

"Vincent!" Leon stuttered, surprised to see the man there. Vincent wiped the glass off of his cape (AN: if you didn't get it, he in jumped through the window.) and looked up. He started to walk forward as Demyx growled and turned back to Leon. Raising the man's blade, he was about to stab him when he abruptly stopped and staggered back. Leon looked over to Vincent and saw him holstering Cerberus.

"You," Demyx seethed, before collapsing to the awaiting floor, not to rise again.

"Thanks," Leon muttered as Vincent helped him to stand.

"We should get you back to the ship," Vincent mumbled, showing his rare but kind side.

Leon nodded and the two walked back to the window. Being on the first floor, Vincent slung Leon over his shoulder and jumped through the window. He landed like a cat, receiving a grunt of pain from Leon, and stood. He took Leon from his shoulder and slung the man's arm around his shoulder and they continued on to the ship.

When they got to the back hatch, Vincent pressed a button to open the door and he stepped back for it to come down. When it was, Vincent led Leon onboard and to the back room. He put Leon on the bed behind Sora's; the boy still sleeping.

"Don't worry. I'll watch him. You go back and help Cloud," Leon said, gesturing to Sora and the castle. Vincent nodded and swiftly exited the ship and practically glided over the ground to the castle.

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As Cloud and Roxas rounded the third floor, a portal appeared. "Oh no," Roxas groaned, but reluctantly brought out Oblivion and Oathkeeper. Cloud removed his buster sword from his back and held it out, ready to fight.

A figure stepped from the shadow with a slight grace. He sent the portal away and looked directly at Roxas. "Go," he said. "Sora has already been rescued."

"Axel? What do you want?"

"What do you think? I just told you that Sora was free so it's safe to go."

"I bet you're just lying. It's a trap." Roxas said the last part to Cloud.

"Now why would I set you up?"

"Because when I was being dragged off, you didn't do anything about it!"

Axel laughed. "No, you've got it all wrong. I couldn't do anything about it because if I did, Lexaeus would have cleaved me in half. And besides, it's not that smart to rescue someone who is in the clutches of the enemy, no pun intended."

Roxas glared. He hated it when Axel won the arguments, but he did have a point.

"Ok, fine, we'll go," Roxas mumbled, and he turned around, heading for the door.

Axel sighed and said, "Here, go through this."

"Go through what-no way, I'm definitely not using that." Roxas backed up at the sight of the portal.

"Hey, it's not going to eat you. It'll take you right to your ship."

"What sh-"

Roxas didn't get to finish. Cloud picked him up and threw him through the portal, then turned to Axel, thanked him, and walked through the portal himself.

Roxas landed with a grunt, and opened his eyes to see someone's boot right in his face. He looked up and saw that person staring down at him with equal interest.

Cloud walked out of the portal and it vanished. "Vincent." He monotonously addressed his friend. Roxas stiffly got up and backed up to give himself more room.

Cloud spoke, "Vincent, Sora's been rescued so we can go now."

"I know; I rescued him."

Cloud nodded and said to Roxas, "Want to get going now?"

"Wait a second; I hardly know you two and we're just going to _leave_?"

"Want to stay?" Vincent questioned.

Roxas shook his head and followed the two guys. When they boarded the ship, they entered the back room and Roxas yelled, "Sora!" He ran over to his Other and kneeled next to him.

Cloud walked up to Leon and asked if was ok. Leon answered positively and reported that Sora hadn't stirred since Vincent dropped him off.

"Guess he'll wake when he's used to 'natural air'," Vincent mused.

Roxas sighed and sat on the opposite bed, watching and waiting for Sora to wake. "Well, now where?" he asked.

"Radiant Garden," Cloud answered and took the front wheel to the ship. Vincent was in his usual seat and together they got the ship off the ground and out of the World That Never Was.

AN: well this was kind of hard to write cause I don't know how Larxene fights, but feel free to make any corrections!! See ya next time!


	7. Smartass Teenagers

The air in the ship reeked of uneasiness; Sora still hadn't woken up and they were halfway to Radiant Garden. Roxas had stayed by his Other's side through the whole ride, and only left to sleep at the other end of the wing.

"Relax," Leon calmly stated. "He'll wake soon enough."

Roxas shook his head and retorted, "Well what if he doesn't?"

Leon sat there stumped, then said, "We'll just have to wait and see. Anything can happen."

"You make it sound as if he is going to die or go into a coma or something," Roxas mumbled.

"I meant that he could wake up in five minutes or in another day."

"Why don't you just go drive this thing?" Roxas yelled, fuming.

"Cloud is-"

"Exactly, we're going to die so go take the front of the ship before we crash…or worse."

Leon dismissed the thought from his head and let the angsty teenager have his time alone. Roxas turned back to Sora and noticed his facial expression; it was scrunched up.

"Sora!" he said excitedly. Sora turned his head to the side away from Roxas and groaned.

"What? Are you ok?"

Sora groaned again and muttered, "Shut UP. I'm trying to get some sleep." He rolled over to his side, completely shutting Roxas out.

"Why don't you get up, otherwise you'll become part of the bed. Besides, you can sleep some other time."

Sora was dead silent, except for his steady breathing, and again Roxas talked. "Are you ok?"

Sora turned and glared at Roxas from behind his sheet. "I wonder," He spat sarcastically, and turned back over.

Roxas stood and spoke one last time, "Fine, but just to let you know, we're almost to Radiant Garden."

Sora's eyes jolted open and he sprung out of bed. "WHAT?!"

"No, I shouldn't tell you; you wanted to sleep." He smirked at the fuming brunette stalking up to him. "Why are we almost to Radiant Garden?" Sora glowered.

"Well, seeing as you were rescued, along with me, we're going to Radiant Garden to refuel and talk to someone, I don't exactly know who though."

"Brilliant, so we're just floating to someone we don't know? And why are you even here? You're with the Organization!" Sora spoke as though he was talking to a roach.

"Not anymore! I was locked up while you were rescued! And if you're so concerned about who we're going to see, go ask Cloud or Leon."

Sora was stunned at the mention of the names, but quickly hid this emotion and stomped to the front of the ship. He was greeted by a semi-large room hosting three chairs in front of the "windshield". Cloud was in first chair, though Leon was taking his spot, and then there was another man in the third seat.

Cloud looked up at the sound of someone entering the room and called, "Sora!" He walked over and greeted the boy, then gestured to Leon and the new man got up and made his way over. He wore a tattered dark red cape and golden boots and a matching right glove, and his main outfit looked like a loose fitting black jumpsuit.

"Vincent Valentine," he introduced himself and shook Sora's hand. Sora nodded back and walked forward to inspect the ship; it was a lot nicer than the one he had.

"So, we're docking in Radiant Garden soon," Leon informed them.

"I know, Roxas already told me." Sora looked as if he was going to be sick when he mentioned the name.

"Something wrong?" Cloud inquired.

Sora shook his head and took a seat against the wall.

"No, just a rather rude awakening."

"Well, get over it because we're here," Leon declared.

Sora leapt up and hugged the front window, gazing upon the familiar realm. Leon flew the ship past the town and docked in the open areas past the bailey.

"Roxas!" Cloud called, and the blonde stalked into the room. "We're here." Roxas nodded in understanding and made his way to the exit.

"Would anyone be so gracious as to open the door?" he smartly said. Leon rolled his eyes but reluctantly opened the hatch. Roxas smiled back as a thanks and walked out. Leon, Sora, and Vincent followed, Cloud going to the back door, and waited for him.

The sound of an engine started up and Cloud rolled around on Fenrir a second later. "Shotgun!" Sora called, and jumped onto the seat behind Cloud. The two zoomed off towards the town, leaving the other three stranded.

"Cheapskate," Vincent muttered as he and Leon and Roxas started their hike in Cloud's path.

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Fenrir roared over the crumpled bailey runes and jumped the ledge, landing in front of a house before the engine died and the two passengers dismounted. "Merlin?" Sora asked. Cloud nodded and walked up to the old wizard's abode, Sora following.

The Ex-SOLDIER opened the door and was greeted by a cheery, "Oh! Hello boys! Where are the others?"

Sora responded with a smug smile. "Hitch-hiking."

Merlin nodded and answered, "Well, I guess we'll wait for them. I don't want to have to repeat myself, it's not very pleasing." He turned around and continued to mumble to himself.

"Uh," Sora interrupted, the old man turning back around. "What exactly are you going to tell us?"

"Good question, my boy. I was going to explain this theory I have for the reincarnation of the Organization, and it very well may have been my fault."

Sora gaped at him. _He was the reason I was kidnapped? And why the Organization is back?_

Just then, before Sora could intervene again, the door burst open and three very mad, fuming men entered, glaring death at Cloud and Sora. _"You…" _Roxas seethed, pointing at Sora. _"That should have been _my _seat."_

Sora almost burst out laughing. Roxas was pouring sweat and rage and all he thought of was a measly little bike seat?

"First come, first serve," Sora taunted back, sneering his face.

"You are _so_ dead," Roxas fumed, charging Sora and tackling him to the ground. The two boys rolled around on the floor, the other men watching, when Sora shouted, "Mercy! Mercy!"

Cloud, Leon, and Merlin turned around to witness Roxas just about ripping off Sora's arms. They gaped, Merlin yelling, trying to restore order, "Now really!" Then Vincent walked up to Roxas and conked him on the head with his golden-gloved hand.

The blonde fell into a heap next to Sora, who scrambled up and ran to hide behind Cloud. The older blonde pushed the brunette away and stood beside Vincent. Sora went to cower behind Leon, but he too stood next to Vincent. Sora stood in the middle of the room and started to go hide behind Merlin, too frightened to go near Vincent, when the wizard shouted, "Honestly! You are the Key Bearer! Don't be acting like a foolish little school boy!"

Sora stopped, thinking _but I am a little school boy!_ when the "fantasy" trio broke apart.

"I guess we'll just leave him there," Vincent muttered, gesturing to Roxas, and everyone took his lead. They went out to eat ice cream.

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When they returned, they opened the door and found a very angsty looking teen glaring at them. Roxas stood in the middle of the room, holding Fenrir's keys, when Cloud asked in a skeptical tone, "What are you doing?"

Roxas let a smug grin slip, and jangled the keys a little. "I was going to take them for a _ride_."

Cloud stepped forward, practically in Roxas's face, and seethed, "Give them back or you'll wake up with a new face."

Roxas stood his ground and responded, "No." Cloud reached back and withdrew his sword. No one even tried to stop him over a fear of becoming mince meat. Then Roxas opened his palm and black erupted from behind him.

Cloud gaped and watched as the boy, and his keys, vanished.

AN: so, about the lateness of my updates, really sorry! I'm just really busy! Well, I hope this chapter turned out ok! With all of the humor and such…so ya, read and review if you have the heart!...ha…get it? Well think really hard if you don't otherwise congrats! Yur perddy smert!


	8. Anger Management?

Ch. 8

"Shit!" Cloud bellowed as he, followed by the others, stormed out of the house. "When I see him I'm going to-."

"Cloud! If you kill him, what kind of problem do you think that will pose for us?" Vincent all-knowingly muttered.

Cloud turned and glared, then spoke in a stiff tone. "You guys go check the town for him," he said, pointing to Sora and Leon. "Me and Vincent will go to the bailey and check. If you find him, kill him and get my keys back, otherwise meet us back at Merlin's."

Everyone nodded and ran to their positions. Merlin stayed at the house.

As Sora and Leon turned the corner at the top of the stairs, they saw a familiar looking blonde in the middle of the square. He turned then vanished. "Hey," Leon said, "wasn't that him?" Sora nodded in agreement and the two turned back and ran to the rendezvous point.

Vincent and Cloud had just walked through The Great Maw, after exiting the bailey, and witnessed a black form erupt from the ground. A lithe figure stepped out and turned right in the direction of the two adults.

"Hey!" Cloud yelled as he recognized the boy to be Roxas. Roxas took off at a dead sprint in the opposite direction, where Sephiroth had previously stood on the cliff.

"Shoot him!" Cloud shouted to Vincent.

Vincent looked at Cloud like he was crazy. "I'll kill him if I do! Just go grab the keys from him!"

Cloud looked dumbstruck for a moment, and then raced after the blonde.

Upon entering the last ravine, Roxas glanced back and was rewarded with another blonde clobbering him to the ground.

"Give. Me. My. Keys. Back!" Cloud meticulously grunted as he repeatedly smashed his sword against Roxas's blades, which were held in an X-form in front of the scared Nobody for protection.

"Help!" Roxas screamed. Vincent came running around the corner and pulled Cloud back.

"Look kid, just give Cloud his keys back," Vincent ordered as he pinned Cloud against the wall.

Roxas flung the keys to the Ex-Turk as if they were the most revolting thing, while Vincent expertly caught them in one hand, while still pinning Cloud.

Vincent gave the keys back to Cloud as he released him from the position. Cloud snatched the metal gifts of God and said smartly, "Thanks." He walked off as if nothing had happened.

Roxas tentatively stood and walked up to Vincent. "Uh, thanks?" he said questioningly.

Vincent grunted a 'you're welcome' and spoke, "You don't want to see Cloud mad; that's scary." He walked off and back to Merlin's.

_Oh God! If that wasn't Cloud angry then…maybe he's on medication…for anger-management. Dear God I'm going to die!_ Roxas thought and ran off to catch up with Vincent.

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Upon entering Merlin's house, Sora and Leon heard the sound of footfalls from around the corner. Cloud appeared from the bailey, shortly followed by Vincent and Roxas. It was like some funeral procession; all three looked dark and solemn. Happiness had just up and left.

Leon took up the silence. "Now we're all back, let's go and see what Merlin wanted to explain."

"Since when did he want to explain things? What is there to explain?" Sora asked.

"Well, he was going to tell us his theory of why Organization XIII was resurrected, if you care."

"I do so care! I was just kidnapped and almost killed, or whatever the heck they were going to do to me!"

"I know, so let's go in and listen." Leon continued into the house and the rest of the crew hurried inside.

AN: thanks DeimosPhobos for the titles of chapters 6 and 7!! And to those still keeping up with my story: sorry for the really late update! I know that's a lame and overused excuse but I've been swamped with everything for a while and am now just getting spare time back! I'll try to update within the week with even more though!


	9. Axel's Back

As everyone filed into the one room abode, Merlin appeared in a poof of blue smoke. He signaled for everyone to sit in front of the computer in a circle.

"Alright," Merlin began, "You all came here for an answer to the Organization XIII problem. I have a theory on their resurrection. You see, Sora, the last time you left to fight the organization, I had an idea. I thought the 7 Princesses would need protection from any of the organization members and Heartless. I decided to create charms, so to speak, that would ward off any oncoming darkness. The charms were to resemble something they would normally be around."

"So is Kairi's the lucky star?" Sora enthusiastically said.

Merlin nodded and continued. "Yes, I just borrowed it from her and modified it. Now, for the other princesses; Jasmine's earrings, Aurora's crown, Alice's headband, Ariel's treasures, Snow White's flower, and for Belle, the Beast's rose."

"How do these charms relate to the Organization?" Cloud spoke roughly.

"If you listen and be patient, I'll get there," Merlin snapped and continued with his story.

"So as I was making these 'batches', I had almost completed the first ones when all of a sudden, they were shrouded in darkness and Heartless came. The beasts just took the charms and went away. Though they weren't quite finished. I quickly made replicas of the Princesses belongings and put another charm on them, then gave the Princesses their items back."

"But how was the Organization resurrected?" Roxas impatiently asked.

"I'm, not sure, but I do believe that the Heartless returned to the World That Never Was, and since that was the Organization's stronghold, that old aura of their beings acted with the charms-which had been consumed in darkness-and recreated the member's bodies."

"That doesn't make any sense," Sora complained, holding his head in his hands.

"Well, think about. When a person dies, or in their case, fades away, the body doesn't just disappear, it returns back to the original place of its death and stays there, combined with another object. The soul does the same thing. For example, when we lose someone dear, they stay with us in our hearts, their body with ours."

Everyone slowly nodded, finally starting to understand everything, when an ear-splitting explosion rang out. "What the _hell_ was that?" Cloud roared, jumping to his feet and running to the door. Leon and Vincent followed and the three barged through the door; Roxas and Sora were close behind. Everyone had drawn his weapon.

The five stopped a few feet from the house and dropped their jaws. Roxas pushed his way forward and gaped at the man posing in front of them. "Axel?"

The red head turned around and flashed one of his famous grins. "The one and only."

"What are you doing here?" Roxas growled, his voice icy.

"You mean I can't check up on my favorite little buddy? That's harsh."

"I'm not your buddy," Roxas snapped and drew up Oblivion and Oathkeeper.

"Hey, I didn't come here for a fight, just a talk."

"About what?"

"About what's going on between you guys and the Organization."

Vincent immediately stepped forward. "If you want to talk, do it now, then leave."

Axel slapped a cocky looking grin on his face and spoke in a mock tone to Vincent. "I've come to re-kidnap Sora…and Roxas."

A vein snapped in Roxas's head and he flew forward, bringing Oblivion and Oathkeeper up at Axel's head. The red head grinned smugly again, his hands breaking out in flames, then producing a pair of chackrams. He blocked and deflected Roxas's attack in milliseconds.

The blonde was stunned at Axel's speed and tried a counterattack. Axel blocked again with a fling of one of the weapons. He lunged towards Roxas, caught the returning chackram, and pinned the boy to the ground in seconds. Roxas's arms flailed about under the weapons, which were jammed to the ground. The keyblades spun a few feet away.

"So, who's ready to talk?" Axel said as he stood up, dusting himself off. Nobody made a move to help Roxas but stared at Axel.

"Fine," Cloud muttered and leaned against the house. Leon and Sora sat where they stood, Vincent sat on the steps to the door, and Roxas lay on the ground. "You first."

"Fair enough," Axel said too quickly, then snapped his fingers. The chackrams holding Roxas down dispersed into the air. The blonde scrambled up and called away his weapons, but held a glare in his eyes at Axel.

"Alright," Axel spoke, "where do I start?"

AN: Ok, so I lied. I really tried to post this earlier, but couldn't, but here it is! Hope you enjoy!!


	10. The Rage of Fire

Okay, I keep forgetting this.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy characters. They belong to Disney and Square Enix. Everything goes to their respectful owner. On to the story!

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"Alright," Axel spoke, "where do I start?"

"You start at the very beginning. How did you guys recreate yourselves?" Leon asked curiously.

Axel stood and contemplated the question for a few minutes. "To tell you the truth, I really don't know. I thought you guys did!"

Leon sighed in frustration. "Ok, well we just have a theory. Next question. What's the Organization planning with Sora and Roxas?"

"Nothing big. Just trying to re-open Kingdom Hearts."

"Nothing big!" Sora yelled. "I risked my life and defeated the Organization to close it! How is that not a big deal?"

"Listen kid, it's not that big of a plan. We just need your heart and Roxy's keyblade."

"_Just_ my heart and his key? So you're taking my soul and his weapon. How is that going to make Kingdom Hearts reopen?

Axel sighed but continued on. "When we give your heart to Kingdom Hearts, we'll need a key from the darkness to open it. Since Roxas is a Nobody and can wield the keyblade, we'll use his blade to open the thing."

"Why don't you guys ever give up on Kingdom Hearts?"

"Why? What if you had become a Nobody, living forever without feeling anything? Wouldn't you like to someday grasp the fact that you can be reborn as an actual human, with feelings and emotions?"

"That doesn't mean you can take other people's lives for the sake of yours. You messed up. You invited the darkness into your heart and it devoured you."

"This isn't getting us anywhere. Our plan is already in motion," Axel grunted, becoming irritated.

"Alright then, next question. Why are you here?"

Axel grinned and emitted an evil chuckle. "I've already told you. I'm re-kidnapping Sora and Roxas."

A scent of tenseness and uncertainty filled the air. Everyone, minus Axel, had focused and gotten ready for anything. Axel slowly started to walk forward, towards Roxas and Sora, when Cloud stepped forward. He aimed at protecting Sora and Roxas, blade drawn.

"Axel, that's enough. You're always doing this; betraying your side and attempting to join another," Roxas called.

"Wrong. I have different plans this time. And they involve following my original side." Axel called upon his chackrams and they formed in his hands from a ball of flame. "Now, who's first?" The red head taunted, eyeing Sora and Roxas and waving about his weapons.

"Neither," Cloud answered, stepping forward. "It's just you and me."

"How kind of you, but I don't need you. Just traitor-boy and key-brat."

"You're out of luck. They aren't going anywhere. Not while I'm here." Cloud charged Axel and slung his sword towards Axel's face. Snapping his fingers, a wall of fire was produced as a barrier between the two. Cloud stopped charging, landed on the ground, and flipped over Axel.

"Well, someone's a fancy fighter!" Axel spoke.

"Not quite." Cloud jumped forward and struck out at Axel's back.

Axel turned and deflected with the flaming chackrams. Cloud went into a frenzy of offense and defense. Number VIII copied, but instead of just chackrams, he used the weapons as flaming fists.

The two were dueling it out until Cloud jumped back from a deadly punch Axel threw. The fire wielder smirked and turned to face Roxas and Sora, seemingly done with Cloud. Behind his foes back, Cloud was messing with his sword. He pulled another, smaller one from the larger weapon and jumped Axel.

Cloud was just a few feet from the enemy when Axel turned and grinned yet again and snapped his fingers. A flame erupted around Cloud's midsection and he howled in pain. The flame spread up and down Cloud's body, consuming him entirely. The sword's were dropped to the ground, quickly followed by Cloud's body.

"Cloud!" Leon bellowed, bounding over to his friend.

"Ah, ah, ah," Axel teased, stopping Leon.

Sora quickly ran over, screaming Cloud's name, and attacked Axel with Ultima.

"Hey kid! Chill out. The guy's fine."

Sora looked at Cloud and saw the flames disperse, leaving behind a battered, but breathing, Cloud.

"I didn't kill the man, just stopped him is all. Honest," Axel said, pointing towards the body on the ground.

"Look at him! You almost killed him!" Leon screamed.

"Ah," Axel said, shoving a finger against Leon's chest, "but I didn't."

"Axel…" Everybody turned to see Roxas step forward.

"Yeah?"

"Get the hell out of here."

"How can you say that? All I want is a little help and you turn me down. What happened to our friendship? Where did that go?"

"That left when the Organization turned against me!"

"You're the one who left!"

"And you were the guy who didn't help his friend! Now you're coming after me and Sora and hurting our friends!"

"Man, Roxas. You're always the one to jump to conclusions. I didn't want to have to do this but you left me no choice."

"Axel, what are you doing?"

The red head opened up a portal and whistled into it. Axel then quickly closed the portal and approached Roxas and Sora. "I'll ask again. Who's first?"

Roxas brought out Oathkeeper and Oblivion and lunged at Axel, screaming, "None of us!"

Behind everyone, almost around the back corner of the area, a portal opened up and a man, taller than average, stepped out. His bleached blonde hair gave his identity away. It was Luxord. He approached the group of revolutionaries. All were fighting or watching, save for one man. He was clad only in black and red but wore two gold armor pieces. One on his arm and the other on his leg, like a boot.

This man, Vincent, stood between his comrades and the enemy. He raised Cerberus and pointed it at Luxord, pulling the safety off. Luxord, in turn, raised both hands in an X-form, each fist grasping a black and white card.

Neither man moved for a few moments, but then Vincent jumped up and fired. Luxord waved his hand and a card appeared, blocking the bullets. The gambler snapped his fingers and four more cards appeared. At once, all five cards, about the height of the average man, raced to Vincent and enclosed around his midsection, looking like a five-pointed star.

Vincent grunted as the cards squeezed him a little harder. He raised his gun and shot one of the cards in its "gut", but the bullet ricocheted off.

"Now," Luxord sighed, "on to more important things." The man walked past Vincent, leaving the Ex-Turk stuck on the spot, and made his way towards Sora.

Vincent glared and studied the man as he walked by, like he had actually won or something. When Luxord was a good distance away, about 15 feet, Vincent raised Cerberus and shot. The bullets penetrated deep into Luxord's mid-back, below the shoulder blades.

Luxord turned around, stiffly, and stared icily into Vincent's eyes. "Not done, are we?" The man waved his fingers and a swarm of cards fell from the sky, covering Vincent in a corral of them.

Luxord nodded, though not in sympathy, and resumed to his original plan.

Ahead of Luxord, the rebels fought hard against Axel. The fire head had barricaded Leon and Cloud from Roxas and Sora, who were fighting, with a wall of fire. Roxas and Sora fought as if they were a team in a rag-tag game of football. Every move was perfectly coordinated and executed, either to attack the enemy or aid the ally. Though, they fought strong, they were losing the match against Axel.

Seeing through the fire wall, Leon watched the battle rage on. Roxas and Sora were holding their own against Axel, but it wasn't enough to beat him. He looked down at Cloud. The man was still breathing and fully alive. Axel had just burned the exterior skin, though not severely. It looked worse than what it actually was, but it still inflicted great pain onto Cloud. Just a flesh wound?

Looking back up, Leon saw Vincent fighting another man. He saw Vincent become trapped within the cards and the new arrival approaching Sora and Roxas. Leon looked to the boys and yelled, "Sora! Roxas! Get out of there!"

Both of the boys immediately looked to Leon, but turned back around to see Luxord, standing near enough to them to attack.

"What couldn't beat us on your own Axel?" Roxas spat, pointing to Luxord.

"Dude, I was holding back during all of that. I have strict orders not to kill you two so Luxord here is going to help me carry them out."

"You can sure as hell try. Just get out of here!"

"Not yet." Axel lunged forward, towards Roxas, and shot rapid fire flame balls at the boy. Roxas deflected all of the attacks, but didn't have time to attack the enemy. Axel was getting closer with each shot and when he was five feet away, he threw a chackram to Roxas's face. Roxas ducked in time to miss the weapon, but as he came back up, a boot connected with his chest, knocking him back over.

Axel's boot crushed Roxas's ribcage, making the boy cry out. He kicked at Axel, who evaded the feet, and tried to pry the boot from his chest. Axel smirked and watched as his old friend was losing to his superiority, but then the man quickly looked up. The chackram was returning from the throw and Axel expertly caught it.

"Now," Axel said venomously, "who's the one losing?"

Roxas glared up at Axel and was about to respond when a voice yelled out. "Roxas! Run!" It was Leon. Roxas looked over at Sora and saw him fighting a useless battle. The boy was going to lose. He was already tired and battered.

Roxas closed his eyes and thought on one thing. _See you soon. Don't give up!_ Roxas opened his eyes and glanced up at Axel, this time smirking, before disappearing into a portal.

Axel's boot thudded to the ground after Roxas vanished into the black. The pyro growled in frustration and turned to Sora. He lifted one hand and threw a chackram. Sora turned just in time to see the weapon and try to deflect it, but it was too late. The chackram clanged against the keyblade and the force drove the shield into Sora's face. The last thing Sora heard drifted through his head. _See you soon. Don't give up!_

Sora focused on the voice, finally narrowing it down to whose it was. "Roxas?" All too quickly, the black consumed Sora and he gave out.

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Leon watched as Roxas vanished into the portal. _At least one of them is safe_ he thought. Quickly, though, Axel turned and threw out a chackrams. Sora tried to stop it by holding up his keyblade, but the force of the hit was too great. The key bearer fell to the floor.

Axel and Luxord stood above Sora for a few moments without saying anything. The boy's key had disappeared when he went out. "Let's go. I'm tired of waiting on these kids. We need t open Kingdom Hearts quickly," Luxord spoke up. Axel nodded and bent down, picking Sora up and holding him under one arm.

Luxord opened a portal and both men walked out. As soon as the portal closed, the fire wall doused itself and the card prison vanished. Vincent was staggering, trying to stand. The cards had punctured his midsection, leaving him bloody and weakened. Vincent dragged himself over to a brick wall and leaned against it, for support.

Leon, as soon as the fire vanished, picked up Cloud, struggling a little, and walked over to the door of Merlin's house. He opened and walked in, placing Cloud on the bed. Merlin walked over, completely bewildered. "Can you take care of him?" Leon asked, but then left to go help Vincent.

Merlin looked incredulous, but then set about to his new task. Outside, Leon approached Vincent, who looked as solemn as ever. The Ex-Turk looked up and stared into Leon's eyes. Both held the gaze, exchanging internal thoughts, until Leon broke the silence.

"Vincent, you need to get inside. Merlin is in there and he can heal you."

"I don't need to be healed."

Leon pointed to Vincent's bloody waist. "Yes you do. Besides, we need to regroup and find a way to get Sora back. Not to mention find Roxas."

Grudgingly, Vincent nodded and the two entered Merlin's house. Cloud had been almost fully healed now, but he was still unconscious. "Merlin, I also need you to fix him up."

Merlin looked up to find Leon pointing to Vincent. "This isn't a hospital! In fact, you should be going to one!"

"Merlin, please, we don't have that much time. We have to get back to that castle and rescue Sora before they take his heart away."

"Oh all right. But you'll have to wait until I'm done with this man," Merlin said to Vincent.

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AN: Finally!! A new chapter!! I'm sorry for the really late update but I was working really hard on Unearthed and I had band and softball. Its summer…what can I say?? Well, I'll be leaving for a week so expect a new chapter within a few weeks. Adìos!


	11. A Turn of Events

Disclaimer: I do not own any Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy characters, objects, or anything of the sorts. It all belongs to Square Enix and Disney. I do, however, own Castle Infinity.

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The World That Never Was was gleaming with darkness. It always had been. Organization XIII controlled the atmosphere and everything that inhabited the place. Heartless and Shadows walked the streets like people in Wal Mart. No one thought twice about it. Though, the only people on this world were the members of Organization XIII.

A black oblong shaped portal erupted from the ground before Xemnas, the Organization's superior. Axel and Luxord stepped out into the crystalline room adorned with 13 chairs, each reaching up to the ceiling at different heights. Axel stepped forward and unceremoniously dropped a boy into the center of the room. The kid fell into a heap, like a slouching pile of bags, but then fell to one side.

Xemnas leaned forward with a questioning look. "Where is Roxas?"

Axel answered, "He got away just before we could grab him."

"You couldn't get them both?" Xemnas snapped.

Luxord stepped forward, in an attempt to relieve the tension, and possible future punishment. "Superior, he escaped through a portal. We couldn't have stopped him, although we tried. As long as we have the keybearer, we can still move forwards with our plans."

Xemnas sat and thought about what Luxord had said. "Very well."

"Shall we start?" Axel asked the room, a hint of glee in his voice. Xemnas raised a hand in a wave of approval. "Alright, then. Let's get started." Axel bent down and snagged Sora up again.

Number VIII departed from the room in a flash of black. The rest of the room's inhabitants departed for the same room.

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Leon, Cloud, and Vincent made their way back to the Gummi Ship. All three were free of wounds and ready for revenge.

"How exactly are we going to save Sora, now?" Leon asked while boarding the metal beast.

"We'll go in, destroy the enemy, and get the kid back," Cloud answered, furiously dropping into the pilot's seat and starting up the engines. Slowly, the ship lifted itself from the ground and hovered, awaiting instructions. Cloud punched in the coordinates for The World That Never Was and the ship steered its way towards the skies.

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Under the black and uninviting skies of The World That Never Was, another portal opened up. A boy the size of Sora stepped out and ran in the direction of Castle Infinity. Roxas's keyblades were out and craving for a fight. _I can't believe they're coming after us again! They'll pay for what they did to everyone._ An iridescent, heart shaped moon illuminated the world with it's eerie pale glow.

Thoughts of revenge ran through his head as he crashed open the impressive front door. The door crashed to the floor in defeat and Roxas charged into the castle. Remembering the layout, Roxas ran for the 6th floor.

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Nine portals formed and dumped its occupant in Vexen's lab room. Vexen himself wasn't present, having being killed previously by Vincent, so Zexion had taken up his task. The Cloaked Schemer grabbed the front of Sora's collar and pushed his back against the wall.

Sora's eyes started to crack open and a groan of pain escaped his lips. He lifted his head and opened his eyes fully, only to witness himself a prisoner in a room of his enemies. He immediately started to squirm around and tried to escape Zexion's grasp.

Marluxia raised a hand and vines swept, latching onto Sora's wrists, ankles and waist, pinning the boy to the wall. Zexion stepped back and watched Sora's futile struggle.

He stopped fighting the plants and stared at Zexion, glaring. "What do you want now?"

"What we've always wanted." A deep but superior voice answered. Xemnas stepped forward and stood before the keybearer. "Since our resurrection, we have craved one thing. To live. You, a creature of the light, must understand our desire. You, who take your life for granted, can't even begin to fathom how we exist, yet not live."

"That's not my problem! You chose to welcome the darkness. It's your fault you're all Nobodies! It's too late to fix that so stop complaining about not having hearts."

An evil, throaty laugh erupted from Xemnas's mouth. "I wasn't asking for forgiveness. I was demanding a way for us to live permanently."

Sora looked bewildered. "That's what you've been wanting the whole time? I don't have anything that can do that!"

"Yes you do. Your heart."

Silence dropped into the room like a bomb.

"My…heart?" Sora asked, his body slowly feeling hollow.

The sound of an explosive crash suddenly resounded throughout the castle. "What was that?" Axel yelled.

"Saix! Go find the intruder!" Xemnas ordered. Saix nodded and vanished in a portal.

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Roxas was running all out up the stairs when a portal interrupted his progress. Saix stepped out and stared down the boy.

"Get out of my way!" Roxas shouted, readying his weapons.

"No." Saix spoke the single word and summoned his weapon. The man thrust the weapon towards Roxas, who blocked with an X fashion of his keyblades. Saix drew back and vanished from sight. Roxas tried to run, but Saix reappeared. The Berserker stood right behind Roxas, his weapon in front of the boy, preventing escape.

"You're coming with me." Saix opened a portal and walked into it, pushing Roxas along.

The portal reopened on the sixth floor, before Xemnas and Sora. Roxas emerged, trapped between a cleaver of sorts and Saix.

"Here's the rat," Saix said, calling back his weapon and pushing the boy forward. Roxas froze on the spot; eyes wide open with fear, staring at Xemnas and Sora.

"R-Roxas!" Sora screamed.

"So good of you to join us," Xemnas announced, draping an arm over Roxas's shoulders. When Xemnas walked forward to approach Sora, Roxas was forced to follow.

"Now that you're here, Number XIII, we can finally start." Just like before, vines flew forward and attached Roxas to the wall in the same fashion as they had with Sora.

A wheeled mechanism was pushed to the front of the room and placed in front of Sora. A part of it, shaped like an elongated needle, was pointing towards Sora. A light on the tip of the needle was gradually growing and becoming brighter.

"No! Stop!" Roxas shouted, fighting against the vines.

"Shut up. We're busy," Xigbar said nonchalantly, waving away Roxas's comment.

"You're going to kill him! Stop it!"

Xigbar jumped in front of Roxas, holding the boy at gunpoint. "I said shut up. Now sit back…hang back and watch."

The light on the edge of the needle turned into a needle and struck Sora right where his heart was. A scream, escalating into sheer pain, came from Sora's throat. His heart began to glow and became more visible. It felt like Sora was exploding from the inside out. With every second passing, the heart became clearer and clearer until it ripped itself from Sora's chest. The body fell back against the wall, lifeless.

The heart floated in the beam of light, casting a pure white light around the room. "Seal it," Zexion ordered, and Lexaeus appeared with a jar, about the size of the one that had protected Beast's rose, and captured the heart within it.

"No!" Roxas howled. "Sora! Sora!"

"I said shut up!" Xigbar yelled, violently punching Roxas in the gut.

The boy collapsed onto himself and gasped desperately for air. He looked back up to Sora, his eyes tearing up.

"Go prepare for the rebirth of Kingdom Hearts," Xemnas said, arms spread wide, his voice filling up the entire room.

"Hehehe…" Everyone suddenly turned towards to source of the noise, and wound up facing Sora. The boy's skin tone started to turn a deep navy blue, almost black, color and his clothes bled together into a black shade, save for a navy color lining his gloves and shoes. Slowly, the head raises and the eyes open to reveal them completely filled with a golden color.

"What have we created?" Xaldin said, gaping at the Anti-Sora.

"I thought this would happen." Everyone turned towards Zexion.

"You _knew_ this would happen?" Superior asked, a hint of disbelief in his voice.

Zexion looked up, his hand under his chin, still thinking. "Well, its only natural. After the heart is removed from a being, they are left to darkness. The last time Sora had been turned into a Heartless, he transformed into a Shadow. But since the subject has grown, so has the darkness following him. When his heart was extracted, that strong darkness hollowed out his body and became a new creature."

The Organization stared in awe at Zexion. That was he had ever said at once. Then as one, the group turned their attention back to Anti-Sora. He was gnawing at the vines, constricting his body, contorting himself to reach the greenery.

"Oh my God," Luxord muttered, in awe and disgust.

Anti-Sora was tearing away at the vines, but suddenly looked up at the sound of Luxord's voice. He was staring at the Organization with curious eyes.

"Hey, I think he's normal again," Axel said, though not truly trusting his words.

_RRAAAAAA!_ An animal like scream came from the creature's throat. Marluxia ordered more vines to subdue the creature. The thorny plants wrapped themselves around Anti-Sora's mouth, sometimes cutting deep. Just as soon as the plants came, they went. Anti-Sora was feasting on it.

"He's a monster!" Marluxia shouted, withdrawing his beloved vines.

Anti-Sora instantly dropped to the floor and crawled to his hands and knees. He started scrambling around the floor and walls, crawling over the Nobodies and sniffing each in curiosity.

"Enough! Leave him be. We have other, more important, plans. Axel, bring the traitor," Xemnas ordered, opening a portal and exiting through it to the top balcony. All followed suit, save for one. Axel approached Roxas, as if he were attending a mourning ceremony.

"Roxas-."

"What do you want now? You've already done enough damage."

"Will you listen to me? I didn't do all of this out of my own will."

"Well, then why are you still a part of this organization?"

"I thought that if I was on the inside of them again I could somehow save you and Sora from their plans."

"Is that why you didn't bother to help us the first time we got kidnapped? Or why you did kidnap Sora again?"

"I helped you escape that first time!"

"Yeah, but not before Sora and I got split up! Now I can't even be whole again."

"Look, I didn't plan on things turning out so bad. But after I helped you and your friend escape, things went from bad to worse. The Organization found out I let you two escape and I was given a 'warning.' The next time I helped you guys, Xemnas would have had me executed. I thought that if I lived, I could still help."

"What warning?" Roxas asked, preparing for the worst.

Axel sighed and reached up for the zipper on his cloak, pulling it all the way down. Underneath the cloak, the man wore a pair of beaten jeans and a worn black shirt. The shirt was tattered and stained with a crimson liquid. Axel ripped the shirt open more and whispered, "See?"

Underneath the shirt, scars lined Axel's torso. Some were already healing, others still trying to close. Blood was caked all over the wounds, smeared across the skin. Axel let go of his shirt and zipped up his cloak, covering the wounds with a wince as the zipper dragged across them.

"Now, let's get you to Kingdom Hearts." Axel reached up and touched he vines on Roxas's ankles with a few fingers. The plant was vaporized in a puff of fire. The same was done to the vines on Roxas's wrists and waist. The boy dropped to the floor and backed up against the wall.

"But you just said you were helping!"

"I know. I'm not really going to let them open the damn thing. It'll look like it, but somehow we're going to rescue Sora and save you."

"How is that going to work?"

Axel brought out his chackrams in a swirl of fire and smoke. The man walked towards Roxas and stood behind the boy, chackrams in front, just like Saix had. Axel created a portal and pushed Roxas into it, shortly following.

On the top balcony, the Organization spread out over the site. Xemnas stood tall in the center, staring at Axel, waiting for him to bring the boy over. The man was holding Sora's heart, contained in the glass jar.

Axel began to walk forward and pushed Roxas along, somewhat rough. They stopped just short of Xemnas, Axel awaiting orders.

"Now, let's begin," Xemnas's voice called out, turning towards Kingdom Hearts. The man opened the glass case and Sora's heart lightly floated out. He discarded the jar, sending it rolling to the opposite end of the roof. The heart stopped at the highest reaches, in line with the center of Kingdom Hearts, but was floating some 50 feet out from it, like it was held within a gravitational pull between the massive heart and the castle.

Xemnas turned back towards Roxas, his eyes boring into the youth's. "Now, Roxas, come here."

Roxas was frozen on the spot. Why hadn't Axel done anything yet, like he said he would? Axel pushed the boy towards his superior until he was within an arm's reach.

"Roxas, you will do us all a favor. Use the keyblades you possess to meld the heart into Kingdom Hearts."

Slowly, Roxas shook his head. "I don't want to. You can't make me."

Xemnas shook his head. "You're disobeying me. Axel, help the boy make the right decision."

Axel stepped forward and held the 2 chackrams against Roxas's throat, drawing small streams of blood.

"No! I don't want to!" Roxas said a little louder, shaking his head.

Axel pressed the weapons closer against Roxas's neck, causing the boy to hiss in pain.

"You have two choices. Either do what I say or we'll catch that little heartless the keybearer has become and we'll kill it," Xemnas threatened, his voice turning venomous.

Axel pressed tighter still, mentally hoping Roxas would cave and do what Xemnas ordered. It was better than having Sora's body destroyed, for he would never return then.

"Alright. Fine," Roxas whispered in defeat, calling upon Oathkeeper and Oblivion. He raised the keys up to point directly in line with Sora's heart and Kingdom Hearts. A beam of light shot out from both keys, similar to the light produced when Sora restored the path to a new world. The light struck the heart, illuminating it even more, and created cracks to form. The heart shattered into several jagged pieces and began to float back into Kingdom Hearts.

Just before the first piece of the heart touched Kingdom Hearts, a winged figure flew up from below the castle's view and intercepted the pieces of heart, gently cradling each shard. The figure gazed down upon the people gathered on the roof. Looking back up to the skies, he let out a scream, of anger and sadness.

On the roof, Roxas studied the winged man, quickly regaining memories of him. "Ah! Vincent!"

Chaos honed in on the person yelling his name. It was Roxas. With surprising agility, Chaos rushed to the roof, crowded with enemies. He landed harshly, shattering the floor. Vincent stood back up and approached the discarded glass jar, returning the heart pieces to it, and sealed it back up again. The man gently set the jar down on the ground and walked up to Xemnas. No one questioned or stopped his motive.

Once they were face to face, Vincent, still in the Chaos form, asked, "Where's Sora?"

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AN: Yay! I'm almost done with this story!! I think there's just on chapter left! Hopefully this chapter was long enough and explained most of everything. The next chapter should be long, if not longer, than this chapter.

I hope that whole scene with Axel talking to Roxas made sense. I was rereading my story when I came across some scenes where Axel was good, and then I read chapter 10 and was like crap. Now he's bad. So I went and fixed it in this chapter. I kind of actually think it fits.

Oh well! Thanks for all of you who have reviewed and kept up with this story!! Much appreciated^^


	12. Death Toll Rises

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy so those characters are not mine!!

I'm pretty sure I would tell people if I owned those two! Hehehe…Vincent :3

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_Once they were face to face, Vincent, still in the Chaos form, asked, "Where's Sora?"_

His voice dripped with menace.

"No longer with us," Xemnas calmly replied.

Vincent growled and stepped even closer to the Superior. "You know what I said. Where is he?"

"His heartless is roaming the halls of Castle Infinity like a wild beast."

Vincent snapped and withdrew Death Penalty, aiming point blank at Xemnas's face. The superior laughed and drew out his weapons. The two quickly fell into a duel, both evenly matched.

Roxas watched as Vincent fought hard against Xemnas. Anger built itself up inside of Roxas to the breaking point, and he pounced. The boy leaped into the fray full force.

"Roxas!" Axel called, surprised at his reactions. Immediately, the remaining staff of the Organization leaped forward, all armed, except Zexion, to stop Roxas and Vincent and aid Xemnas. "Enough!" Axel bellowed, throwing out both hands to the side. Walls of fire burst from the ground and encircled the brawl of Vincent, Xemnas, and Roxas. "You cowards!" Axel yelled towards Xemnas's followers. "If you're going to fight, do it with some honor!"

Axel charged his first opponent, Luxord, with flaming chackrams drawn back. They were thrown forward and each flew in towards Luxord's head at a speed of which was nearly impossible to see. The gambler drew up a shield of cards for protection, but he wasn't quick enough. Both chackrams drew themselves diagonally across the man's neck, cleanly slicing off the man's head. The body fell to the floor.

Axel called back the chackrams and looked up to see two men running at him: Marluxia and Lexaeus. Marluxia had his scythe out and threw it at Axel, the weapon spinning madly towards its intended target. Lexaeus drew out his tomahawk and sent it careening towards Axel's at an alarming speed.

Axel looked up and held the two chackrams out, deflecting the oncoming weapons with a flick of his wrists. Marluxia and Lexaeus stood a scythe's distance from Axel and called back their weapons. A poisonous smirk came to Axel's face as he charged the enemies.

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The Gummi Ship burst through the skies of The World That Never Was and soared to the ground, landing roughly and dumping its occupants out. Once they touched the ground, an ear-splitting cry rang out. Leon, Cloud, and Vincent hurtled themselves towards the castle, hoping to make it on time.

At the front entrance, which had been blown in, Vincent broke away from the other two. "I'm going to head up and see if I can stop them from advancing." The man suddenly turned into Chaos, protomateria in his chest shining brightly, and leapt into the air, heading for the uppermost roof.

Cloud and Leon turned and entered the castle. It was completely deserted. Both dismissed this factor and took the stairs, three at a time, towards the roof, careful to avoid any doors.

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Zexion, standing off towards the sidelines, watched the battles unfold. He watch Roxas and Axel fight, learning their style, when a familiar scent caught his nose. He turned towards the Stairwell and saw two figures emerge, swords drawn. "More company," the schemer mused, signaling Xigbar and Xaldin attention.

The two Organization members turned at the intruders and lunged for them, craving a fight. Xigbar leapt in front of Cloud and drew out his guns He began to rapidly fire on Cloud with the pink bullets. Cloud deflected all of them with a diagonal slant of his sword.

"Having fun yet?" Xigbar asked, stepping closer.

"I never have fun," Cloud responded, charging the enemy. Cloud's sword crashed against one of Xigbar's guns, crumpling it to a pile of useless metal.

"That's not cool," Xigbar huffed, disappearing into a portal. He reappeared in the sky, hanging above Cloud. Xigbar led on an assault of bullets from all angles of the sky, continually changing places, until Cloud jumped back and rammed his sword into Xigbar's stomach.

"Are you having fun?"

"Damn…you…" Xigbar mumbled, falling to the floor and ceasing all movement.

Meanwhile, Leon was ferociously attacking Xaldin. Leon pulled an uppercut with his sword, driving the blade between Xaldin's blockade of lances and himself. The man pulled back and watched his enemy recover.

"I will not allow you to disrupt our plans," Xaldin shouted, calling up 7 lances and throwing them all at Leon. Leon jumped past some of them and deflected the rest, coming out with a few minor scratches on his face.

Leon watched and waited for Xaldin to move, waiting for the last strike. The two faced each other, waiting for the other to strike, when Xaldin lunged forward, 3 lances in hand. He threw them a body's length from Leon, aiming for the abdomen. Leon tensed and sprang forward, over the oncoming lances and towards Xaldin. His sword came forward and struck the man through the chest.

Xaldin's eyes went wide as he saw the blade pierce his chest, felt the weapon being pulled out, the blood pooling out, and dropped to the floor. "N-no…" Leon turned from his opponent, who was no more, and saw Cloud finish Xigbar, the man, too, falling.

From a distance, Saix watched as both Xigbar and Xaldin fell to their opponents. "Weaklings," he muttered, approaching Xemnas and his enemies.

Vincent and Roxas were fighting Xemnas, using a battle plan that had to be coordinated perfectly. While one was on offense, the other was on defense, both positions switching often. Out of the corner of his eye, Vincent saw Saix approach, raise his claymore, and bring it down towards Roxas.

"No!" Vincent shouted as he threw out Death Penalty to block the attack.

Roxas swung his head around at Vincent's yell, and saw Lunatic come to him and dig into his back, scratching the spine. He screamed out as loud as ever and crumpled to the floor, blood pouring from his back. The two keys disappeared from the boy's grasp.

"Roxas!" Vincent yelled, throwing a well-aimed punch to Saix's face and dropping to the boy's side.

Axel had just finished almost cleaving Marluxia in half and scorching Lexaeus to death when he heard Vincent's shouts. He turned…and saw Roxas fall, blood flying everywhere. Too speechless for words, Axel leapt up and charged towards his comrade, but another being intercepted him. It was Zexion.

"Get out of my way!" Axel shouted, trying to push Zexion away.

"But why would I?"

Axel looked back down at Zexion, and saw Roxas, armed with Oathkeeper and Oblivion. The man looked back to his friend, lying helpless on the ground, and then to the imposter in front of him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Axel bellowed, throwing a chackram at the imitation.

The fake Roxas, Zexion, deflected the weapon and charged Axel. "It's much easier to fight in this body, don't you think so?"

"No, I don't!" Axel screamed, regaining both of his weapons and lunging towards Zexion. He threw the chackrams and each hit Zexion on his upper arms, on the taught muscles.

Zexion screamed and dropped the keyblades, turning himself back into his original form. His arms were dripping with blood, hanging useless at his sides. He looked back up into Axel's eyes and saw the man right in front of him.

"Go to hell," Axel seethed, holding both chackrams in one hand, driving them into Zexion's abdomen. Slowly, Axel dragged the weapons up Zexion's body. The chackrams were silently splitting the man's torso until they got stuck in the middle of his rib cage, but by then, Zexion was dead, hanging only by Axel's weapons. Axel pulled the chackrams out from Zexion's body and the man collapsed onto the floor.

"You filthy bastard," Axel said, his voice laced with menace. He turned from Zexion's body and ran to aid Vincent.

Vincent, still in his Chaos form, crouched by Roxas. He held a hand in front of the boy's mouth, and was relieved to feel some air being exhaled, however shallow it was. Vincent stood back up and lunged at Saix, anger leading the pursuit.

Saix ricocheted Death Penalty's bullet by way of his claymore, Lunatic, and slung the huge thing at Vincent. He jumped into the air to avoid the attack and hovered some 50 feet up. He looked back over to his comrades and yelled out their names. "Cloud! Leon!"

The two looked up and saw Vincent in the air. He was pointing down. They followed his line of vision and saw Roxas lying on the ground, covered in his own blood. "Get him and the heart and go!" Vincent yelled, motioning towards the glass jar, too.

Cloud raced towards Roxas as Leon took off for the heart. Vincent looked back down and saw Axel fighting Saix and Xemnas. He dropped back down to the ground and joined the quarrel while protecting Roxas. Cloud rushed in and grabbed Roxas as Vincent protected them. Cloud bolted back out, carrying Roxas like a baby, trying not to disturb the back wound.

Leon reached the glass jar, and in it, the heart. He picked up the object and ran for the stairwell, shortly followed by Cloud.

Saix watched as Cloud escaped with Roxas, Leon with the heart. "NO!" he screamed. Axel ceased his fight as he saw Saix's structure change. His ears elongated a little more and his hair grew and spiked out, like he was just shot with electricity. His claymore grew in width, the eight white spikes doubling in size. His face exhibited fierceness like no other; he was a Berserker.

Vincent landed in front of the Berserker and shot a beam of energy from his hand, hitting the demon square in the chest.

Axel backed up and turned towards Xemnas, who was going to secretly attack Vincent. Axel threw a chackram and deflected Xemnas's attack, also driving the man's attention to himself.

"It's you and me, now," Axel said to his used-to-be-superior.

"So it would seem." Xemnas charged forward with his aerial blades out. Axel leapt up, at the last second, and landed on the blades, forcing them to the ground. He swung his chackram towards Xemnas's head, but the man disappeared.

Axel whipped around just in time to block Xemnas's attack. "Coward! Attacking behind people's back!" Axel spat, pushing away the blades. Axel threw both chackrams at Xemnas, flaming. The Superior blocked again, only this time the chackrams weren't deflected. They continued to push against the Xemnas's blades, forcing Xemnas to flee, right into a trap.

Axel had predicted Xemnas fleeing, so when the man appeared again, a dome of fire covered the man, slowly closing in.

Axel watched as the fire consumed Xemnas, enjoying every bit. Then something appeared, between Xemnas and the fire. It spread out to cover the man's body, isolating him in it. The substance enlarged itself, dispersing the flames.

Xemnas was standing under an energy shield.

"Tch," Axel grunted, readying his chackrams yet again.

Meanwhile, Vincent and Saix were dueling it out, beast versus demon. Saix roared and flew towards Vincent, who ducked and rolled to avoid the swinging claymore. He turned back around and fired off from Death Penalty. Saix deflected the bullets and charged again, leaving no room for dodging.

Vincent flew up into the sky, avoiding the fatal attack. Saix followed him, but Vincent beat him to it. He surged forward and delivered a roundhouse kick to Saix's chest, sending the man back down to the ground. The sky was his turf, and everyone else's limit.

Saix braced himself from the attack, landing before crashing. He looked back up and saw Vincent hurtling towards him, the gun aside. Saix readied himself, but Vincent was too quick for him. He rolled under the claymore again and sprang up, snatching on to Saix's hood. He leapt up into the air, dragging Saix along, until he was aligned with Kingdom Hearts. The claymore had fallen when Vincent had stolen Saix.

Vincent pulled Saix up and then launched him back to the castle. The Berserker was sent tumbling towards the ground, crashing into it with such a force that a normal human would have been killed, instantly.

Before Saix could recover, Vincent followed up with a high-energy beam, sending it shooting towards the man at incredible speeds. The beam reached its target and obliterated it on the spot, spewing smoke and rubble everywhere.

Once the smoke had cleared, all that was left was a scorch mark and a hole where Saix had stood.

Vincent landed and marched towards Xemnas, ready to finish things. He approached Axel and Xemnas to see a tragedy. Axel was breathing heavily and bleeding from several wounds. One of the chackrams had been cleanly sliced in half and discarded.

Xemnas stood tall and seemingly confident, eyeing up Vincent and Axel.

"I'm surprised you've made it this far, Number VIII," the Superior spoke aloud.

"Same to you," Axel retorted.

Vincent stood beside Axel, slowly drawing out Death Penalty. "It's over. You're men are dead."

"That may be so, but I can still activate Kingdom Hearts."

"Suck it up!" Axel shouted, stepping forward. "You're not gonna win! Everyone else is dead. That heart is safe and you're not gonna get your hands on it or Roxas!"

Xemnas stepped up, a few feet from Axel's face. "My, my, Number VIII. So much anger. Take that rage and direct it at the Heartless manifesting the worlds."

"No! You're finished!" Axel thundered, charging the man. The chackram burst into flame as its wielder launched it at Xemnas. The man jumped to the side at the last second and vanished in a portal.

"Damn it," Axel seethed.

"Come on," Vincent said, approaching the other man. "We need to go help Roxas."

Axel nodded and vanished in a portal. Vincent walked to the edge of the roof and plummeted over, landing gracefully on the ground. He reached the ship just as Axel appeared.

Vincent released his Chaos form before entering the ship, followed by a very anxious Axel. The two entered the back room of the ship and saw Cloud and Leon bent over a bed, which was occupied with a blonde teen.

"How is he?" Axel asked as he approached his friend.

"We've got him stable, but it won't last long. He needs more help," Leon answered, dressing the last bit of the wound on Roxas's back.

Axel gazed at his companion, lying in a near death state. The boy was resting on his stomach, the back of his shirts destroyed. Blood had stained the back of his jacket and shirt and some of his hair. His face wore an expression of permanent pain and misery.

"That damn Xemnas," Axel muttered, pacing the room. Then he stopped abruptly and spun to face Vincent. "Sora!"

Vincent's face fell into astonishment at the fact that they had momentarily forgotten the boy. He scooped up the jar of heart pieces and raced from the ship. Axel followed.

The two stormed the castle and bounded towards the stairs. "Do you have any idea where he could be?" Vincent asked, starting up the stairs.

"Well, I don't know. We can try floors 8, 23, and 30."

"Let's go."

Axel opened a portal and the two jumped in, landing back on floor 8. The hall consisted of several doors, some actually a part of the wall and others just randomly placed.

"Which door?" Vincent asked.

"Doesn't matter. They all lead to the same room." Axel pulled open a door and walked in. When Vincent entered, he found the room completely void of people, Nobodies, and Heartless. Instead, the room featured several rows of counters, each equipped with 5 sinks and every hair product, from shampoo to combs to styling gel.

Vincent eyed Axel warily. "Well, how do _you_ think we get our hair to look so great?" the man defended.

"Nevermind. Where is he?"

Axel shrugged his shoulders and opened another portal. "Let's try floor 23."

Once again, the two were dropped off at their destination. The corridor looked exactly the same as the previous, as did every other floor. Axel opened a door and allowed Vincent the pleasure of entering first.

The room consisted of 13 go-karts, lined up against the far wall, and a narrow but long racing track.

"Are you serious?!" Vincent yelled, pointing to the track.

"We can have fun sometimes, too."

"Whatever. Next floor."

Axel nodded and the two were swallowed in yet another portal. They were dumped out on the thirtieth floor. The room was littered with every video game you could imagine. It was a mini arcade.

Vincent scanned the room for Anti-Sora. The room was dark, save for one lit up game, which was being used.

The cloaked men approached the boy playing Tetris and Vincent snagged his collar from behind. He yanked the boy from the game and threw him to the floor. Anti-Sora landed on his back and Vincent quickly swooped down on him, pinning his arms to his side.

The Heartless boy squirmed around, trying to free his arms, when Vincent shouted to Axel, "Get the heart!"

Axel picked up the jar Vincent dropped when grabbing the boy and opened it. The pieces of the heart floated out, almost poetically. The pieces drifted towards Anti-Sora's chest and slowly began to unite, forming the original heart.

The newly born heart fell into the boy's chest and an animal like howl resounded from his throat. Vincent held the boy firmly, with the aid of Axel, and waited out the spasms. The screams slowly melded with those of a human's until they were human. The boy's skin color began to reside into a normal shade. The clothes' dark colors soon turned back to their original state.

The screams finally subsided and the boy went limp. His breathing was irregular, but soon returned to normal.

Axel stood and retreated from the boy, gratefully opening a portal. Vincent leaned over the boy and picked him up, bridal style. The two men exited the portal.

The room was left in an eerie state. A glass jar lay in pieces on the floor, having been dropped and shattered. The Tetris game Anti-Sora had been playing now read "Game Over."

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On the castle's front lawn, if it could be called that, a portal erected itself from the ground and unloaded three passengers. Axel and Vincent, carrying Sora, made their way towards the Gummi Ship.

Axel cupped his hands over his mouth and sucked in a deep breath. "Cloud! Leon! We've-."

The man was cut off as another portal erupted from the ground. A man stepped out and nearly Time itself stopped. It was Xemnas.

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AN: Alright, well I lied a little. There is to be another chapter! And it shall definitely be the last. *pouts*

I've had fun with this story and hope all of you faithful readers have, too! Wait…what am I saying? There's one more chapter!!

Thanks for all who have read and I will hopefully have the next chapter up soon!

Until next time,

aMa


	13. The Final Hour

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy. They belong to their respective owners. I do own Castle Infinity, however.

And here it is!! The final installment of Carousel! Please enjoy.

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Vincent and Axel froze at the sight of Xemnas. He was standing, armed with the aerial blades, in front of Vincent.

"The boy…" he spoke, motioning to Sora.

Vincent turned so as to protect Sora more. "Never."

Xemnas grinned evilly and raised a hand, throwing one of his blades. Vincent spun around and ducked, cradling Sora, but heard a clanking noise above his head. He looked to see Axel's chackram locked with the blade.

"Go!" Axel shouted, nodding in the direction of the ship. Vincent nodded and took off at a dead sprint.

"So, it's you and me again," Axel said smartly.

"So it would seem."

Vincent bounded onto the ship and ran to the back room. Cloud and Leon were staring at their companion and Cloud yelled, "What's going on out there?"

"Xemnas." Vincent spoke the one word and approached the bed next to Roxas, placing Sora down on it.

"Oh good, you've found him."

"Wasn't that hard. I'm going back to help Axel." Vincent stormed from the ship, only to stop at the door. Axel and Xemnas were locked tight in the battle.

Both were throwing their weapons roughly but skillfully, each locked onto the other.

Xemnas threw a surprise attack and Axel jumped back, receiving only a scratch across the bridge of his nose. He stood and cancelled his weapons, sending them away. Xemnas watched his inferior with curiosity, waiting for him to make a move.

Axel rose to handfuls of fire to the sky and brought them back down, hugging himself. Fire soon consumed the entire area, throwing itself everywhere and burning anything in its path. Xemnas tried to ward away the beast, but it came on even stronger. The fire encroached itself on Xemnas's blades, slowly creeping up to the man. The Superior dropped his weapons, but the fire was relentless and chased the man.

Axel withdrew his hands and threw them out, as if greeting a large audience. Fire spread out of his fingers in waves, going every direction. Heat was drying the air out rapidly, forcing Vincent to take cover in the ship and close the hatch.

The fire started to turn white hot, scorching the area without contact. Xemnas screamed in agony as the fire devoured him. The flames continued on into a violent explosion; everything was shrouded in a blanket of smoke.

As the smoke began to disperse, the hatch to the ship opened, falling to the ground and unloading three passengers. Cloud and Leon ran to the edge of where the fight had erupted, not daring to take another step. Vincent strode up and past his two comrades, looking for survivors.

Smoke still littered the last few feet off the ground, making it hard to walk without constantly looking down. Slowly and cautiously, the three men made their way onto the field, fearing the worst.

A slight groan was emitted from the smoke. Cloud, Leon, and Vincent hustled towards the noise to find a body.

Axel rolled over onto his side, coughing up blood. His hair was singed and his face covered in what appeared to be ash. The distinct facial markings were hidden under a layer of soot. He tried to lift himself onto his side, pushing up with both arms. "Xemnas…"

"He's dead," Vincent stated, having previously scouted the area with his vision.

Axel weakly nodded and dropped back to the ground.

"Come on," Leon spoke up. "We need to get you to the ship." He snaked his arm under Axel's arms and behind his back.

"I don't need any _ship_," Axel protested, trying to pull himself away from Leon.

Leon tightened his arm around Axel's back and hoisted him up, letting the man lean on his shoulder. "Look, just get some rest."

Axel huffed and looked away. "Fine."

The two stumbled to the ship, Cloud and Vincent trailing. Once they were on board and had Axel lying down on the last spare bed, the three walked up to the controls, taking their original seats; Leon was command, leaving Cloud and Vincent as seconds.

"What are we going to do now?" Leon asked, looking back at the three injured passengers.

"We can't take them back home in their current condition. Should we see if Merlin can help?" Cloud asked after giving it some thought.

Leon nodded, considering the idea.

"What about Axel?" Vincent asked, pointing to the guy.

Leon shrugged his shoulders. "Ask what he wants."

"Fine." Vincent walked over to Axel and tapped his shoulder.

Axel groaned and rolled onto his back. "What?"

"What did you want to do now?"

"I want to sleep."

"What about afterwards? Are you going to stay here?"

"Are you freakin nuts? I'll live somewhere else."

"Like where?"

Axel stared right into Vincent's eyes. "I'll go wherever Roxas and Sora go." He abruptly turned over and shut Vincent out.

"Even if they don't want you to?" Axel didn't reply. "Alright." Vincent went back to Cloud and Leon and told them what Axel had said.

"Well, if he's going back to Destiny Islands, where exactly is he going to stay?" Cloud asked.

"No one knows," Vincent said.

"Well, now that he's made his choice, let's head to Merlin's and see if we can't help Roxas out at all," Leon stated, turning on the engines.

Cloud and Vincent took up the controls of take off and selecting the location. Leon thrust the ship into drive and took off, to Radiant Garden.

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Upon arrival in the new world, Cloud and Vincent took to the tasks of carrying the two teens from the ship; Cloud carried Roxas and Vincent carried Sora, both bridal style. Leon helped Axel walk, by supporting him, and the group hustled over to Merlin's.

When they arrived at the house, Leon knocked. "Just a minute!" Merlin answered, shuffling some things around. A few moments later, he opened the door and almost dropped his jaw. Leon smiled sheepishly.

"Not again!" Merlin said angrily. "What have you done this time?"

"Hey," Axel greeted, throwing out a hand. Merlin looked skeptically at the gesture, but took it.

"Uh…nice to meet you. Now, like I said, who needs to be fixed up?"

Cloud stepped up. "Him first. We couldn't do much to help, though."

"No problem, boy. Bring him here, on the bed."

Cloud stepped into the house and laid Roxas, stomach down, on the bed.

He stepped up and let Merlin work. Everyone else patiently waited in the opposite corner of the room, waiting for Roxas to be healed.

After an anxious half hour, Merlin stood up and said, "All patched up. He'll be fine, but won't wake for a few hours more."

"Thank you, Merlin," Leon said. Vincent brought up Sora, but didn't set him down.

"His heart was ripped from his chest and he turned into a Heartless. He was probably like that for a few hours, but when we returned his heart, he showed signs of life. He was breathing but was instantly unconscious."

"Alright, I'll see what I can do." Merlin took Sora from Vincent's arms and laid him on the bed. He worked for the good part of an hour before turning to the last four.

"All's well with these two," he said, motioning towards Roxas and Sora.

"Looks like I'm next," Axel interrupted, trying to stand.

Merlin looked him over real quick and handed him a vial, filled to the brim with an iridescent green liquid.

"Here, drink this."

"No special treatment?" Axel grudgingly took the flask and downed the whole of it.

"You should feel better within the hour," Merlin informed Axel, who nodded curtly and looked away.

Leon looked up to Merlin. "Thank you, for healing everyone. Even on short notice."

The wizard waved his hand towards Leon as if he was dismissing the thanks. "No problem, my boy."

"Well, we'd better get going," Cloud said, picking up Sora. Vincent followed the gesture and picked up Roxas, minding his back. Leon stood by Axel to make sure no man was harmed in the making of the march to the ship.

All four waved their thanks as they departed from the house. Axel limped and staggered all the way. "'You should feel better within the hour.' Yeah, right. I feel like crap."

Leon punched his shoulder. "At least you are going to feel better."

"I almost died! The bastard just doesn't want to give me special treatment because I was part of the Organization."

"Watch it! I wouldn't either."

"Mother f-!"

"Axel!" Leon yelled vehemently, slapping the man across his already-punched shoulder.

"Fine. Whatever. Let's just go." Axel abruptly stopped the conversation and hustled towards the ship, which was looming ever closer.

Once aboard, the boys were dropped back onto their beds and Axel flopped down onto his, carrying a slight attitude. The other three went up to the controls and turned the beast on, heading for Destiny Islands.

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On the Gummi Ship, in the rear cabin, a boy slowly stirred from unconsciousness. Sora groggily pulled himself up on the bed and swung his legs over. He rested his head on hands, propped up from the elbows on his knees.

The boy rubbed the grime from his eyes and looked about, taking in the new scenery. He stood and lazily walked to the front of the ship, stopping just behind Vincent's chair.

Vincent, being the cunning and strangely adept man he is, turned just as Sora approached. "You're up." It was a statement, without a hint of surprise.

"Yeah. What happened?" Sora asked, rubbing his head.

Cloud turned and joined the conversation. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"Just this light…and a lot of pain, here." The boy tapped his chest, just above his heart.

"What happened to Roxas?" Sora asked, looking around the cockpit area.

"He was in the bed next to you. Did you not see him?" Leon asked, slightly concerned.

"Guess I must have missed him. Where are we going now?"

"Destiny Islands."

Sora fell silent. "I get to go home?"

"Well, yeah," Cloud said. "Why don't you go see if Roxas and Axel are up."

"Wait a second. Why is Axel here? He was trying to freaking kill me!"

"No, he wasn't. He's part of the reason of you being here, alive."

The last sentence hit Sora hard. "Well, then what's the other part?"

Leon flicked on the Autopilot switch and turned around in his seat. "Well, we kind of helped, too. But we'll talk more about that later. Right now, someone wants to speak with you," Leon stated, motioning for Sora to turn around.

Sora turned to see Axel; he was leaning against the wall. Roxas was standing next to him.

Uneasiness filtered throughout the ship as Sora and Axel continued to lock eyes.

"Well, seeing as this is getting us nowhere, I guess I'll start the talking?" Axel asked, waving out a questioning hand.

"Maybe you should," Sora mumbled.

"Alright, well when the tragic event of Sora loosing his beloved heart occurred, Xemnas was preparing on using it and Roxas's keyblades to finally open Kingdom Hearts and restore hearts to him and his Organization. He nearly succeeded, though I was planning on stopping him, when Vincent showed up and took my spotlight. Together, he, Leon, Cloud, Roxas, and I finished the Organization. We restored your lost heart to you and then went to go see Merlin. The old fart healed us and here we are now, going home."

Sora stared at Axel, not quite sure whether to be mad at him or not. "Is this it?" he finally said.

Axel mentally questioned the boy's question. "Well, yeah. The Organization is finished and Kingdom Hearts won't be tampered with anymore. You can go home and never have to worry about any of this stuff."

"That's what I thought when I killed Ansem's heartless."

"At any rate, though, you're done with this whole keybearer business. Just leave it at that and enjoy life." Axel turned and returned to the back cabin; Roxas stayed where he stood.

"Hey, crew," Leon suddenly spoke out. "We're here."

"Finally," Sora said in a relieved sigh. He ran over to a window and saw the world they were rapidly approaching.

Within minutes, the ship landed and Sora and Roxas were practically on top of the hatch, waiting for it to come down. As soon as it did, they jumped out and ran for the island, not even bothered by the fact that they would have to swim.

The rest of the group took the time to absorb the scenery and calmly walk to the dock, where a boat waited for their departure to the island.

Meanwhile, on the coast of the island, Sora and Roxas greedily tore up the sand and raced for the other side, anxious to see a familiar face. As they barged onto the familiar tarmac, two kids turned.

One, a boy, had long silver hair pooling around his shoulders. The other, a girl, had brightly colored crimson locks that just reached her shoulders.

"Sora!" the silver haired boy gasped, racing towards his life-long friend. He embraced him in a tight, but brotherly, hug. "I though you were going to be gone forever!"

Sora was too happy to speak; he held on to the hug.

After a few moments, the two pulled apart and Riku approached Roxas, holding out a hand. Roxas took it and Riku pulled him into a hug, too. Roxas returned the gesture.

Sora watched Roxas and Riku and suddenly turned back to the girl. She ran forward and threw her arms around Sora's neck, lightly crying onto his shoulder.

"Kairi," Sora whispered, wrapping his arms around her, drawing her even closer.

"Sora, I thought you were gone. Forever. But now…" She burst into another fit of tears.

"It's ok now. I'm here. I'll always be." Sora gave one last squeeze to the hug and pulled Kairi off. He held her hands and looked into her eyes. "I'll never leave you again. Not like that."

A smile drifted to her lips and she hugged Sora again, not wanting to let go. Her face was buried in the nape of his neck. "I'm so glad you're back."

"Me too."

During the hugging ceremony, Leon, Cloud, Vincent, and Axel made their way around the island and stopped when they saw the kids. Roxas and Riku exchanged a quick brotherly hug while Kairi and Sora were hugging as if their lives depended on it.

"They are just too cute," Axel said, watching Sora and Kairi.

"Leave them alone. Now go see if they will even let you live here," Leon spoke, pointing to the shack.

Axel sauntered towards the kids, hoping for a positive answer. He didn't have anywhere else to go!

Roxas and Riku watched as Kairi and Sora finally pulled apart.

Kairi wiped away her tears with the back of her hands and laughed a little. "What?" Sora asked, peering into her eyes.

"Nothing. I just can't believe you're back."

Sora smiled.

"Hey!" a voice called out. The four kids turned towards the call and saw Axel jogging up to them. The man walked right up to the kids and stopped. Sora and Kairi dropped hands, shocked at the sudden and ill-timed appearance of Axel.

"Hi?" Sora said, unsure of why the guy was even there.

"Well, I have a question for you. Would you mind it if I just kind of lived here?"

Everyone gaped at the man. Sora turned to Roxas and Riku, both of which shrugged in a 'yes' answer. Kairi nodded. "Well, I guess. But where are you going to stay?"

Axel did a quick scope of the island and saw the shack. "There?" he asked, pointing to the little abode.

"Go for it," Riku answered.

"Thanks! I guess we're forced to be friends now. And no hard feelings about the whole kidnapping scenario?" Axel asked Kairi.

She reminded herself that Axel _had_ saved Sora… "None at all." She said through a slightly forced smile.

"You're all just perfect. I'm going to say my farewells to the other three guys and then I'll make for 'home'."

Riku looked questioningly at Sora. "Other three?"

"Oh, yeah. Cloud, Leon, and Vincent helped save me and kill the Organization," Sora said.

"Who's Vincent?" Kairi asked.

At just the right moment, the three guys crossed through the tree barrier. Axel was with them, exchanging farewells.

As the guys approached, Axel branched off and ran to his new home.

"Kairi, Riku, meet Vincent," Sora said, pointing to the cloaked man.

"Vincent Valentine," the man said, his voice deep and intriguing.

Kairi and Riku both muttered a hello, a bit intimidated.

Leon stepped forward, speaking to Sora. "We have to go now. We have our own worlds to help."

"Alright, well thanks! For everything," Sora said.

Roxas stepped up. "Same here. Thanks."

Cloud and Leon nodded and turned back to their ship, shortly followed by Vincent.

The group turned back in to face one another. Roxas, though, faced Sora.

"Hey, I know it's been fun, but I think we should…you know…" His hands came together, palm to palm.

Sora chuckled. "I know what you mean. Thanks for coming."

Sora and Roxas both stood tall, eyes closed. An electric blue aura enveloped the two boys. Roxas slowly started to fade, and then he was completely gone.

Riku and Kairi smiled; the trio was back together, permanently.

"What do you want to do now, oh great keybearer?" Riku asked.

"How about a nice, long walk around the beach?"

"That'd be nice," Kairi said, sliding her hand into Sora's.

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AN: Yay! It's done! Well I hoped you all enjoyed this story. Thank you for sticking with it all the way. Sorry for all of those long update-less time periods. I've been at band camp for the last month and a half.

Thanks for reading and reviewing! See you soon (and hopefully with a new story!)

aMa


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